Lights, Camera, Perfume?
by heartonpins
Summary: Izumi Sena is your cookie cutter, black sheep, otaku boy who refuses to follow the family tradition of going into show business. That is, until the 10 year anniversary of a commercial he starred in as a kid suddenly approaches. He's thrown into the spot light and finds himself at a loss upon meeting his co-star once again, and they are not who they seem to be.
1. Chapter 1

Hello~ And welcome to my fanfic! I don't expect many to read it but if you do, and you like it, then I whole-heartidly thank you! Because lemme tell you, I'm kinda scared to post this. So what's the deal that's happening is that.. I.. love Love Stage, but I -well - didn't like Ryouma... So if you decide to read this I'm gonna give you a fair warning and say that Ryouma will not be in this version of the story. In fact, what you'll be reading is a re-do of the story... sans Ryouma and instead another character I created has been inserted in his place. That being said, you'll be seeing a lot of familiar parts in this fanfic, especially in the beginning 2 chapters since the story with the new character won't really kick off until the next one.

I kinda went overboard and already wrote some 15 chapters, so there won't be a delay between chapters provided people want to actually continue the story. So... I hope you enjoy!

* * *

 _10 years ago_

The afternoon was brilliantly bright and sunny. The white stones of the church were reflected luminescent against the blue sky. The scene outside laid out the makings of a wedding, but not by normal means. Along with the well dressed audience, bride and groom, there were also cameras and a full film crew. The wedding was not so much a holy matrimony as it was the set for a commercial. To add to that, the bride and groom were already married. They had even brought along their eight year old son, dressed formally to be one of the younger extras in the shoot.

As with many productions, hiccups had a liking to spring up at poorest times.

"The actress playing the girl can't make it?" The director asked the assistant.

"Her flight's been canceled. She won't make it on time."

"Do we have a back up?"

"Not from the extras we have here. The manager found a replacement but it'll take her three hours to get here."

The director considered the information, but by his expression, it was a grim option. "The sunlight will be all wrong by then!"

Nagisa Sena, the bride, had been sitting on a chair in the shade as a make up artist hovered around her applying final touch ups. She was within hearing distance of the conversation.

"They're asking if you could just change the plot of the commercial." The assistant offered.

"Easy for them to say," The director replied, exasperated.

"Director?" The bride spoke up from her seat. "Would you like to use my son?" She pointed to the boy standing beside the groom. He was immediately alarmed at the suggestion. He'd only been brought along as a background extra, not a main role. The thought terrified the boy.

Before he knew it, he was handed over to the costume and cosmetic department. His suit was replaced with a pink dress and sash, dress shoes, a string of pearls, and his hair done up into two ponytails. Even at the age of eight, he felt and looked horribly embarrassed. If any spectator didn't know better, he would have easily been mistaken for a girl.

A woman was talking to him, oblivious to his onset of jitters. "Ok! Let's go over the script. You're going to catch the bouquet the bride throws, then smile at the boy next to you."

The poor boy could hardly form a coherent sentence in his growing panic. He had little time to flounder an excuse to change back into his suit when two others joined the readying group. One was an older man, also in formal attire, and the other a young boy standing at his side. He hardly looked much older then himself, the boy noted, although he did stand a couple inches taller. He was a brunette boy with eyes so blue, they might have challenged the sky.. and won. By the calmness of his expression, he seemed much more mature than how he was handling the situation at that moment. When they made contact with his, he was almost startled by their direct gaze.

The man at the older boy's side looked down at him. "Say hello." He coaxed in a gentle tone.

The blue eyed boy glanced up at him, the looked back towards the nervous 'girl'. "Good morning," his voice was soft, perhaps in response to his nerve-wracked appearance. "I'm working with you, right? It's nice to meet you."

The poor boy stammered a reply, but it was hardly more than a broken string of syllables. The brunette looked at him curiously.

The audience had gathered around the stairs leading to the church's doors. Everyone was in place. Adults in the front, while the boys were stationed towards the back where the bouquet was marked to fall.

"And... action!"

The church bells began to ring and the doors swung open, revealing the happy couple as they walked out to greet their guests as man and wife. The bride tossed the bouquet of pink flowers towards the audience. The poor boy knew all he had to do was catch it, then look to the boy next to him. However, it seemed the simple act of catching the object was going to be easier said than done, as the bouquet arced down and missed his outstretched hands to land on the floor.

His nerves were already shot. Failing a simple instruction was too much for the poor boy. The brunette had been about to inquire on their well being when something at the boy's feet caught his attention. It seemed the poor boy's bladder had become overtaxed as well.

 _10 years later_

The rest of the memory faded away, or perhaps it had abruptly stopped, as dreams tended to do when the dreamer finally awoke. Izumi Sena, no longer a nervous wreck of a ten year old - now a less nervous wreck of an eighteen year old - lay on his back staring at the ceiling. The last wisps of the dream like memory were fading but it didn't stop the strange, uncomfortable twist of second-hand embarrassment he currently felt in his stomach. Why, of all times, did he have to suddenly have that memory spring up? He had been going on just fine without having to recall that traumatic train wreck of an event. The boy sat up in bed and put on his glasses. He shook off the last grips of drowsiness and looked up.

"Good morning, LalaLulu," He greeted, not a person, but a poster across his room on the opposite wall. A strategically placed vision which would be the first thing he would see upon waking up, surrounded by other LalaLulu memorabilia. A shrine to the ficitonal magical girl, and no better way to start his morning.

When Izumi opened the door to the dining area, he was first greeted by the sound of his mother's voice. By her tone, she was complaining about something. Their assistant, Rei, was used to dealing with this behavior and was speaking calmly in response.

"Are there still no job offers for me? Why?"

"Because you turned down that last offer, Nagisa-san."

"But I don't want to work with _him_ again." She pouted.

Izumi took a seat at the empty, set place at the table. Breakfast was a simple serving of miso soup, toast, eggs, and ham. His mind tuned out the complaints of his mother as he greeted a monotone,"Good morning,"

Nagisa smiled, looking at him before something on the TV caught her attention. "Good morning- oh!"

The television was usually turned on during meal times to provide idle entertainment and topic fodder. Programming had switched over to a commercial break, but by the time Izumi thought to look up at the screen, he wasn't sure if what was playing wasn't just an extension of whatever movie had been on. The camera work was too sharp and precise to be a typical commercial. The theme looked fanciful, the woman on the screen was dressed in flowing layers of soft fabric. The following seconds were of various cuts and close ups of this woman getting ready, with the finishing touch being a spray of perfume in a decorative glass bottle. After arriving at a ball fit for a fairy tale, she caught the eye of a Prince Charming. As they embraced in a dance, the Princess lifted her eyes to glance at the camera. Then the scene faded as the image of the perfume bottle on a plain backdrop appeared.

Nagisa had been momentarily mesmerized by the commercial. "Oh, my favorite perfume released a new fragrance. I'll have to remember to buy it soon. I believe that was the new face of the company. Isn't she lovely?"

"She is," said Izumi's father, Seiya. "but not as lovely as you are."

"Perhaps, I should get back into modeling. Do you think I'd be able to?"

"It would be like you never even left, dear."

Nagisa had started her career as a model for small fashion companies. As with many models, they often transitioned from photos and fashion to television. Now, his mother mostly starred in dramas and movies.

Seiya had once been an actor, debuting in opera and stage musicals, but left the stage light to become the President of their talent agency 'Sena Productions'. After marrying Nagisa, they had their eldest son Shougo, who - like mother and father - was the lead singer in the band CRUSHERZ. Along with his Grandfather and Grandmother, a singer and dancer respectively, the Sena family seemed to fall under the category of being a 'show-biz' family.

Their assistant Rei Sagara was in charge of management with Sena Pro, and often worked alongside the Sena family to find job offers and contracts.

And then there was Izumi, who vehemently refused to go anywhere near a camera, and chose instead to attend the local college. As most students his age did. However, this decision didn't seem to sit well with the family.

Nagisa looked over at her son. "By the way, Izumi? Have you been seeing that vocal coach?"

Izumi tensed at the mention. No, he had not.

"Shani-san agreed to give you dance lessons as well," Seiya added.

Though he had only touched half of his plate, Izumi found his appetite had fled out the door at the double attack he was receiving. He was inclined to follow suit.

"You're already eighteen years old, so you need to-"

"Wow! Just look at the time!" He cut over his mother in his haste to change the subject. "I'd better get going! Have a nice day!" He grabbed his school bag from the chair and rushed out of the room.

"W-wait-!" Nagisa called after him but it was too late. "Oh, honestly. What is he going to do with his future? He's starting to act like an otaku..."

"He's not acting," replied Rei. "He _is_ an otaku." He phone rang, to which he responded by answering it quickly.

-x-

Though his family kept pushing him towards show business, Izumi knew for certain it was something he could not, and would not, ever be able to do. He got stage fright every time the teacher called on him in class, how could he be expected to handle being the main character of a drama, or on stage singing? It simply couldn't be done. Not everyone in the Sena family had to be famous from performances. There were other ways.

In light of his obsession with a specific magic girl anime, Izumi had become inspired to follow along that pathway. He would become someone who could create art with a stroke of a pen. To entrap and enthrall audiences with fantasy worlds and villains and charming characters. He aspired to be someone like Miyabi Saotome, the artist behind LalaLulu.

Although, in hindsight of his failing grades, he often wondered if it was a wise decision to practice drawing manga in the middle of class lectures. Still, he found better concentration at school than he did at home. Even if his drawings seem to be lacking _something_. He wasn't sure what. In his mind, he was close to being ready to send his art in to a magazine for publishing.

In the end, he ended up spending hours after class at the manga club, where rather than drawing or writing manga, they would instead only read it. And Izumi himself was caught in the net of the new Young Zeta magazine issue.

By the time Izumi arrived home, it was completely dark outside. He had spent the whole afternoon _and_ evening reading manga. If anything, he tried to at least study how manga looked to better his drawing skills, but in the end, he always got too caught up in the story itself to pay any attention.

Upon opening the front door, he hadn't been prepared for, nor was he expecting, a welcoming party. His mother, father, and Rei stood together in the living room with unusually bright smiles.

"Welcome home, Izumi-san."

"We've been waiting for you!"

"You're late today,"

Judging by how their morning went, Izumi hadn't had any inclination that something was waiting for him when he returned home - he might have had incentive to not read manga until the sun went down had he known. He failed to comprehend their meaning until Rei pushed a button on the remote control to play something that had been paused on the television.

That same dream, that same exact memory, played on the screen in its full, violin wedding march glory. His mother and father exiting the church to the cheering audience. Bells ringing. The bouquet was thrown over outstretched hands but, of course, Izumi was the on to catch it. A pleasant female voice spoke, "Have a wonderful wedding at any age," As bride and groom road away in an open carriage, Izumi did as scripted and looked to the brunette boy beside him and smiled as the words 'Happy Wedding' faded onto the screen. Izumi went rigid when he saw himself, eight years old wearing a pink dress and pigtails, catching the bouquet.

"T-this is-!"

Rei turned off the television via the remote and spoke in a strangely serious tone. "Ten years ago, the three of you starred in this commercial for the bridal magazine Happy Wedding."

"Izumi was so cute! And Seiya-kun was so young!" Nagisa gushed dreamily.

"You haven't changed a bit, darling."

"To commemorate their tenth anniversary," continued Rei, "Happy Wedding wants to film another commercial. The concept is: 'A Wedding Ten Years Later.' It'll show the children who caught the bouquet, now getting married themselves ten years later. They want to keep the same casting as before, so this offer is for all of you."

Izumi, who had still been shocked by the vivid recollection of the commercial played before his eyes, was brought back into reality.

"I'll do it!" Nagisa said cheerfully. "It sounds like fun!"

"If you want to do it, I'll do it too, honey."

"W-wait a second," Things were suddenly moving far too fast for Izumi. "By 'all of you,' do you mean me, too?!"

"Of course." Rei replied.

"No, no, nonono! There's no way I can do this!" Izumi replied, panicked. "Can't they just use a girl who looks like me instead?"

"There's a problem with that," answered Rei. "The thing is, the actor who played the boy in the commercial made a specific request. His involvement in the commercial is to have the _exact_ same cast as ten years ago."

"B-but, you could still use someone else.." Izumi offered feebly. "He'd never know!"

Rei, not halted by Izumi's constant backpedaling, went on. "He specifically mentioned that he remembered the girl's unique eye color." While Nagisa and Seiya congratulated themselves on having a job offer with the good-standing company, Rei was the only one who remained business-like. "Those are the circumstances. It would be greatly appreciated for you to appear in the commercial."

"Hold on a second!" Izumi's voice was surprisingly loud, even for him, but he had to be heard over the excitement his parents felt. The room instantly became quiet. "Aren't you all forgetting one vital little fact?"

"What vital fact?" Rei replied.

"I'm a _guy_!" Izumi retorted. "I might've passed for a girl ten years ago, but now-"

Rei placed a hand on his head, cutting him off. A strange act, made stranger as he proceeded to walk around Izumi in a close examination, complete with hands pressed to his chest and shoulders, before Rei said decidedly, 'No problem. With your short stature and skinny frame, you'll still pass for a girl!"

Izumi, visibly irritated by Rei's nonchalant attitude towards his ordeal shouted, "Shut up! I've had it! I'm not doing this commercial!" He turned to leave towards his room.

"Please wait- " Rei pleaded. "This commercial is an excellent start for your entertainment career-"

"Like I've said..." Izumi enunciated to make his point crystal clear. "I am _not_ going into entertainment! I don't want to!"

"Then what do you plan to do with your future?" Rei asked. "You went to college without any particular goals, and your an asocial otaku with zero people skills. As you are, you could never get a job in the real world!"

His words stung. Izumi felt rather childish listening to Rei berate him in such a way. His parents merely looked on as an audience "I-I'm going to become a manga artist..." His voice lacked any conviction.

"A manga artist?!" At this, Rei's composure shattered. He no longer seemed like the proper business man, speaking in a calm tone with reasoning words. "What chance do you think you have with those crappy drawings that look like they were drawn by a drunk, in the dark, with his left hand?! Life's not that easy!"

Izumi was shaken, so much so, Rei's temper immediately calmed down in realization that his shouted words were probably spoken too harshly.

"Rei, you stupid, horrible jerk!" Izumi shouted. Through his lenses, small dots of tears lined his eyes. "I'll never be in your stupid commercial!" Poor Izumi dissolved into angry tears as he turned and bolted through the door and to the stairs to his room.

Knowing he had not handled that situation correctly, Rei sighed at the amount of effort he just added to his already impossibly long list. He was out of his league in convincing Izumi to do something he really didn't want to do. His parents were no better. Therefore, there was only one person who really understood how Izumi worked. He flipped open his phone and dialed in the number.

-x-

Izumi collapsed onto his bed, trying to hide his tears in his pillow. He felt crushed. Not only did his parents constantly push him to do something he didn't want to do, now Rei was added in the fight against him. He didn't want to star in a stupid wedding commercial.

The next day, Izumi had left for school with a new burning intensity within him; he would prove to Rei how wrong he was, and that he was capable of living his own dream of becoming a manga artist. As he sat in class, tuning out the lecture of the teacher, he scribbled away in his notebook. The drawing, however, didn't seem to correspond to his passionate thoughts and looked.. well... _off_. He had joined the manga research club to learn how to draw, but it didn't seem to be working.

He hadn't noticed the door to the lecture hall had opened. It wasn't until he noticed all the other students were looking at the visitor that he, too, looked over. Instantly he felt surprise and disbelief. A very distinct man stood at the doorway, clad in black jeans, jacket, a white shirt, and a facial appearance that clearly stated he was a Sena.

The teacher was at a loss at the intrusion. "Wh-who are you?"

The man ignored the teacher's question as his yellow-blue eyes scanned the room full of students. Finally, he found who he was looking for at the same time Izumi stood up to get a better look.

"What are you-" he started to ask as his brother rushed up the stairs and pulled him into a hug.

"I found you, Izumi!"

The scene, though oddly touching, was a little awkward as the other students looked on in wonder. Slowly they began to become excited.

"Is that Shougo?" Asked a female student.

"No way."

"It really looks like him, though."

Before any solid questions could be asked, Izumi took hold of his brother's hand and hauled him down the stairs right out the classroom door he left open. He didn't stop running until they were away from the classrooms and hallways. Once outside, he finally let go of his brother, who needed to sit down to catch his breath.

"What were you thinking?!" Izumi demanded. "What did you come here for, Shougo?!"

Shougo sat on his feet, knees bent, with his head rested in his palms. He looked up at his little brother the same way one might look at an adorable puppy, regardless that he was currently fuming."I came to see you, Izumi."

"Why couldn't you just wait for me at the house?!"

"I'm supposed to be working right now, so this is the only time I could sneak out! Then I had to look all over the school for you!" He whined, like the situation of walking around a school was exhaustive.

"Why'd you have to pull a stunt like this? Without even wearing a disguise!" Izumi went on.

"I was wearing sunglasses..Though, no one was fooled. I guess your big bro just has too much.. what do you call it? Aura? I just can't keep it all in."

Izumi was stunned, not by his brother's supposed 'aura' but by how he was the older one, yet the least responsible of the two.

"Anyway, Izumi-"

"No."

"But I haven't said anything yet,"

"Rei asked you to come here, didn't he?"

"Guess the jig is up. That makes things easier. You should do the commercial. You're so darn cute, Izumi, you should totally be on TV!"

"You only think that because you're my brother." Izumi said indiginantly.

"Plus, if you do the commercial, I'll give you this super special alarm clock." Shougo held up a hideously pink, oblong shaped alarm clock with a speaker on the front beneath the clock face.

Izumi lacked an instant reaction, as even he was surprised his brother would think he'd do something just for a dinky alarm clock. He stood with his arms crossed, unimpressed. "You think you can bribe me with a thing like that? Are you making fun of-"

"Now, now." Shougo said patiently, " Just see what happens when I press this button.

 _'Izumi-kun! Good morning! Go out there and do your best today! Love-love, LalaLulu!'_

Immediately Izumi recognized the voice, but he couldn't believe what he had heard. LalaLulu's voice was coming out of the alarm, and not only that, she had addressed him directly, name and all. The audio repeated as Shougo held the alarm clock above Izumi's range of reach as the poor boy leapt helplessly for the alarm clock.

"I asked the voice actress to record this special wake up recording for you!" Shougo boasted. He prevented Izumi from reaching the clock by placing a hand on his head and holding him in place. "So if you want this-"

"I'll do it!" Izumi shouted. Shougo was surprised at the change of heart. "If I think about it, dressing up as a girl in a wedding dress is kind of like cosplay!" He rationalized. "And I've always wanted to try cosplaying!"

"I see! Good boy." Shougo was impressed with what a little alarm clock to manage. "Then, here you go."

"Thank you, Shougo!" Izumi held the alarm clock to his chest. He felt even closer to Lala-Lulu.

 _I'll be fine doing it just this once. It's for LalaLulu, after all._

-x-

A white van waited outside a multi-story building, the back door had been slid open to await their passenger. Once they arrived and climbed into the back passenger seat, the door slid shut and the van was on it's way to their destination. After a few moments of silent driving, the driver, their agent, spoke up.

"We got the greenlight for that commercial."

The brunette looked up from the window. "Really?" Their voice sounded neither disinterested nor entirely enthused, more rather controlled.

"When you gave them that condition, I wondered if you weren't keen on appearing in it."

They flipped open their phone and pushed a few buttons to access the gallery of photos. Upon finding the one they desired, they stopped and stared idly. It was a photo of the young girl in the pink dress, the first and last time they saw her. "If I don't like something, I usually say so right away, don't I?"

The agent smiled wryly. "That you do. You're very clear on those matters. Oh, on the way to Sakamoto's would you like to stop by that cafe? I saw somewhere that they brought back that drink you liked."

They smiled, glassy blue eyes looking out to the passing scenery. "That sounds like a fine idea."


	2. Chapter 2

Izumi doubted any day that began with the excited voice of his beloved LalaLulu could be a bad one after that day. The fire of passion was blazing brightly in his soul as he awoke bright-eyed and bushy tailed the following mornings. At school, he spent most of his time drawing during class. He had to perfect his technique if he wanted to send his work into a publishing magazine. He even began drawing during their research club, while the other members continued to read their volumes of Young Zeta.

However, there came a morning where he was more or less awoken by the twist in his stomach, rather than his alarm clock. He didn't want to get out of bed. He didn't even want to open his eyes. If he just ignored everything, maybe today would simply skip over to the next one. LalaLulu spouted her good mornings, but Izumi didn't move.

Finally, for the first time feeling rather irritated with that enthusiastic voice, he shut off the alarm. He hadn't slept well at all.

The same couldn't be said for his parents. His mother was positivily beaming with excitement.

"You look absolutely stunning today, Nagisa." Seiya said with a smile as the three of them sat down for breakfast.

"Really? I used a really expensive facial mask last night!" Nagisa replied.

The dining room door opened. Rei stepped into the room. "Everyone, we should get going soon." His announcement was cut short when he noticed the state of the young Sena. He hadn't touched his breakfast, and he looked downright sickly. "Izumi-san, you need to eat properly today." He chided. "It won't do to lose energy during filming."

"I can't. If I eat now, I'll throw up.. If I get in the car, I'll definitely throw up. I feel super sick.."

"Don't worry about that, now." Said Seiya as he grabbed Izumi under the armpits and hoisted him up onto his feet. "The car has plastic bags just for that purpose." He said cheerily as he proceeded to haul his son away from the table, ignoring his protests of an upset stomach.

Izumi had survived the drive to the company building, and was closely watched to be sure he didn't take off in the opposite direction. They traveled up to the nineteenth floor where, somehow, Izumi was told they had a church set stashed away. They were told to head to costume and cosmetic at once.

Izumi was greeted by three, very animated, very similar looking women. They must have been triplets, or perhaps were very fond of a peach colored, curly up-do Izumi wasn't aware existed. The only difference between the three of them were the color of their head wraps and the heart splashed across their white t-shirts.

The one in the middle, the red one holding a brush, spoke first. "I'm Miho. I'll do your make up and hair."

The yellow on the right spoke next, brandishing a nailfile " I'm Shiho. I'll do your nails."

Lastly, the blue on the left spoke, holding up a measuring tape. "And I'm Maho. I'll do your wardrobe."

Rei had accompanied Izumi, as his parents were ushered off to another dressing room. "These three are the trusted backstage staff who work with Shougo. You can relax and entrust yourself to them."

Izumi was at a loss as to how he ended up here, after all, he had been so determined to stay away from show business. And yet, staring at the three women gushing over his appearance, he was being hit with a hard reality.

"Oh, once you take his glasses off, he's adorable!" said one.

"His eye color is just like Shougo's." said another.

A blue nail painted hand poked his cheek. "His skin is so perky."

Surrounded by these women, Izumi felt his mind start to become fizzy. He'd never so much as had a girl look in his direction at school, and now there were three, layering on compliments. One looked over his hands, the other his hair, the last one measuring his shoulder length.

"I just want to eat him up," said Shiho. Izumi started, he looked ready to run.

"You can relax and entrust yourself to them..." Rei tried to remind him, but even he was a little concerned at their sudden admiration.

Make-up was applied, which was a new experience for him. His hair was done, although most of it was hidden away under a wig that ended at his hips and trailed over his shoulders. Flowers were clipped into either side of his head for added measure. He was made to try on three dresses of varying bridal styles. The pink one with short puffed sleeves, a ruffled collar and ball gown won the honor of being worn for the commercial, complete with necklace and flower choker. When the divider was removed, Izumi was no longer the boy who had entered the building. He was now the blushing bride of some poor groom who didn't know what was really under it all.

Rei was the first, aside from the triplets, to see him this way. He was impressed. "Well done! You'll make somone a beautiful bride!"

"What do you mean 'bride'?!" Izumi snapped.

"No one could possibly guess that you're a boy,"

Izumi didn't quite take it as a compliment but didn't chafe at the words. Rather, he felt more self conscious than ever. "Are you sure? Because if eveyone on set found out, I would just die of humiliation." He grasped the fabric of his dress.

"You have nothing to fear." Rei's voice was gentle and reassuring. "Aside from us, only these three know your true identity. And they'll stick close to you as your make-up crew. We've given your name as just 'Izumi' as well. You have nothing to worry about."

There was a gentle knock on the door to the dressing room. Izumi nearly dove back behind the standing divider.

"Yes?" Rei asked.

A gentle voice from the other side of the door spoke. "Pardon me. I just wanted to introduce myself."

Shiho placed an assuring hand on Izumi's shoulder. "Calm down. You'll be fine."

Maho took his other shoulder. "We've made you up perfectly."

"Just do the best you can," said Miho, "and trust the rest to the make-up and dress."

A simple glance gave Rei the clear. "Come in,"

The door opened. Standing on the other side was a man clad head to toe in a white tuxedo. In his hands, he held a bouqet of orange and pink cosmos, red and peach roses, and white carnations, meant as a peace offering. "Good morning," they greeted. "I'll be your co-star for today. My name is Nishihara."

Izumi was momentarily caught by surprise, a weird sort of nostaglic feeling he had felt before. This person, the last time he had seen him, was when they were kids. But now, they stood tall and rather elegantly. Their smile was just as gentle and warm as it had been ten years ago. But his eyes, they were what caused Izumi's breath to catch. A blue so dazzling and bright, it was as if a clear sky were trapped within them. In fact, perhaps he was imagining it, but he almost saw clouds floating in them. Their hair was the same chocolate brown, cropped short around the ears with a side parted fringe that curled just so over the forehead. It framed nicely around his slender face. They looked like some sort of picture-perfect Prince that stepped out of a fairy tale. The groom's suit fit perfectly to their slim, tall frame.

And there was Izumi, the supposed-to-be Princess.

Nishihara entered the room in a smooth stride, approaching him. "Izumi-san, it's been a long time since I've seen you. Have you been well?" When he was in front of him, he held out the boquet of flowers. "These are for you."

"It's been ten years since we've last seen each other,"

"It has.."

Standing this close, Izumi could easily tell Nishihara stood inches taller than him. Even in the small heeled shoes he was wearing, he had to look up slightly to make eye contact. Even then, with that direct gaze, he wasn't sure he wanted to. He felt like his disguise was being seen straight through. If he looked too long, he would find a fault somewhere and the whole act would be up.

"I'm so sorry, Nishihara-san." Rei said from his position near the couple. "We really should have come to you to introduce ourselves. You even brought flowers,"

Nishihara turned his attention from Izumi to the manager. "Oh, no. I've just been looking forward to meeting again. That, and I have a little case of pre-shoot jitters. Walking around helps me calm down a bit."

 _He's scared of doing the commercial?_ Izumi wondered to himself. He felt a little more eased knowing he wasn't the only one nervous about the whole thing.

Rei held out a card in both hands. It held all of his information, a gesture meant as a formal introduction, similar to shaking hands. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Rei Sagara, of Sena-Pro."

Nishihara took the card. "Yes, I've heard of that talent agency. They've debuted a few new talents recently, correct?"

"Yes, they have."

"Is Izumi-san represented by Sena-Proi as well?"

Izumi went rigid at the mention. This was certainly the start of a trail of evidence leading to his embarrassing reveal. Rei stepped in and quickly covered any possible lead.

"No, she's not actually in the industry. She's a relative of Nagisa's and filled in as a back-up during that shoot ten years ago."

"Oh, I see." Nishihara regarded Izumi once again. "So that's why I never saw you around. I was a little disappointed. I had hoped to work with you on more projects."

Izumi looked at the boy in mild surprise.

"I enjoyed working with you when we were younger, is all."

Before Izumi could reply, someone knocked on the door. Without waiting for a prompt to enter, the door opened and a staff member called inside. "We're getting ready to start filming. Can you please stand by?"

Something akin to a hand made of ice wrapped itself around Izumi's insides and crushed them tight. He felt his legs freeze, and all together his heart dropped. He shrank into himself, becoming smaller next to Rei as he huddled into the bouquet of flowers.

"I'll get going, then." Nishihara said, with a final glance back to a now trembling Izumi.

"Yes, thank you very much." Rei said cheerfully, oblivious to the terrifed girl beside him.

Nishihara's gaze lasted a moment longer, closely considering Izumi, before he took leave of the room.

Izumi, Rei, and the triplets stood outside the opened doors to the church proper. Nishihara had gone in ahead of them, as his place was to be at the front near the alter. Izumi thought he was going to be sick, and began to worry he'd end up soiling the dress... again.

Rei adjusted his glasses as he spoke. "You can mess up as many times as you need."

"That's not it.."

Rei looked over to Izumi.

He was visibly rocking, as if he were about to topple over by some unseen force. "I think we're having an earthquake right now."

"You're the only one that's quaking here..." Rei observed.

"I can't do this! I'm gonna faint!"

"You can faint all you want _after_ we're done filming."

A script assistant stood at the opened doors, flanked by two footmen in black tuxedos. "We're ready to start!"

His heart was pounding so hard, he was sure everyone on set would be able to hear it. Or perhaps, it would completely leap out of his chest like they did in cartoons. He felt like he was going to be sick, yet some part of him - perhaps adrenaline - kept anything from actually coming up. He stood at the closed doors, and heard the faint sound of the director shouting from the other side. The door opened to reveal him standing alone.

Strange, that for a moment, he actually felt like he was walking down the aisle of his own wedding. The room was filled with people he had never seen before, and the church itself was so imaculately, he could hardly believe he was inside a high-rise.

Willing himself to move forward, he walked with haste to get the scene overwith. All he had to do was walk to the altar, then leave with the groom, from what he had glancced of the script. It would be easy.

That was, until his dress snagged under his high heel and he was immediately introduced to the carpeted floor. He landed hard. Everyone in the room stared in both shock and concern.

"Is the costume okay?" Someone shouted.

The triplets rushed over to the fallen bride to quickly adjust anything that might have been dislodged during the tumble.

 _I knew I couldn't do this. It's just like ten years ago._ When he had dropped the bouquet the first time, and proceeded to wet himself in the distress. _I'm going to mess up and ruin everything again._ He felt himself starting to cry, despite his effort to keep himself from doing so. Then he remembered, he had _seen_ the commercial play on the television. That meant it was completed, it had gone right after all. _But... how did that commercial get finished... then.. I messed up.._

A hand appeared in front of his vision, bringing him back to the reality where he was still sitting on the church floor. Resting within the palm was a small, yen sized marble. Looking up, he saw the owner of the hand was Nishihara.

"Here, would you like to try using it again?" The boy asked. His expression was so gentle and calm that Izumi felt almost soothed, perhaps because he wasn't being yelled at for messing up already.

"Again?" Izumi asked, as a foggier memory slowly rose in his mind. He had seen that marble before.

 _After the first take had been squared away and little Izumi cleaned up and set right again, the poor boy had dissolved into tears off to the side of the set. He wanted to go home, he didn't want to be here anymore. He cried loudly. No one on set seemed to be able to calm him down and production was at a stand still._

 _Little Nishihara had been observing the whole ordeal. He approached the boy and held out his hand. "Do you want to borrow this?"_

 _Izumi stopped his crying to look at what was being offered from the boy. "What is it?"_

 _"It's a lucky charm," Nishihara replied, "You hold it to your chest and say 'calm down, calm down,' and all the nervousness goes away."_

"That's right. It was because of your lucky charm that.."

Nishihara gave a small smile and nodded, turning over his hand to drop the marbel into Izumi's. He accepted the lucky charm and held it in his open palm. He did as he remembered, holding the marble to his chest and chanting 'calm down' over and over. His eyes opened in surprise. He felt.. normal. "It's just like back then! The nerves are gone!"

"All right," Nishihara said, amused, "You did it."


	3. Chapter 3

Filming had been going smoothly. Izumi had walked down the aisle of the church without tripping over his dress, at least. Oddly enough, he was getting used to walking in it, as well as the high heels. Somehow, his mind preoccupied itself to keep him from noticing the hundreds of eyes looking in his direction. He imagined himself as a high school student attending school with LalaLulu, a silly concept, but in his mind it all made sense.

The only thing that didn't make sense was that, despite his adoration for the magical girl, he had never actually imagined kissing her. And yet, in his mind, that's exactly what happened. He had only a second to wonder why he was thinking of this when he realized it wasn't an imaginative twist his mind had taken.

All at once he realized there was a face far too close to his. So close in fact, he felt a connection of skin to skin contact, specifically in the lip region. His brain took the bits of evidence and complied them together into the mountainous realization that he hadn't imagined a kiss. He was actually being kissed... by Nishihara.

Outside, a taxi pulled up to the producer's building. The familiar figure of Shougo stepped out of the car. Under his arm was a rather long body pillow. "I wonder ow the shoot is going for my adorable little Izumi." He wondered.

The moment was supposed to be happy, as it always was in movies and shows. The priest gives them the telltale verse 'you may now kiss the bride', the two exchange the contact, then the room erupts into cheers and applause. But instead, this particular church set erupted into the loud cry of Izumi as his body kicked into gear.

He slammed his hands into Nishihara's chest in an effort to get away, so exaggerate it was that the groom lost his balance and immediately fell over backward. Izumi tore down the aisle in a flurry of pink satin and tears, leaving the set in a stunned silence.

Nishihara sat at the floor of the altar stairs, sitting up with a grunt of air as the force of his push had knocked the wind out of him. He gave a single cough and adjusted the collar of the tie. "Well, that was quite a reaction,"

"I beg your pardon," said Rei from the opened doors of the set. "She's a bit of a late-bloomer, so she was just a little startled. I'll go check on her now,"

Nagisa, along with Seiya, had been sitting in the front pew as the 'honorary' previous bride and groom to witness their holy matrimony. "Oh, you know what?" Nagisa mused aloud. "I think that was Izumi's first."

"First?" Seiya asked.

"First kiss," she clarified. "Wasn't it? Izumi's first kiss?"

Nishihara overheard the exchange. He was still sitting on the floor. His attention was caught, though only his eyes widening slightly showed it. "Mm, that explains it.." He murmured. He lowered his head, as if some gravity were suddenly placed on his conscience.

A stage hand had approached him. "Are you all right, Nishihara-san? She pushed you pretty hard."

The boy looked up at her, giving a pleasant smile. "I'm fine. Although, she does have a pretty strong arm, doesn't she?"

Rei pounded on the door to Izumi's room, which he had locked behind him. "Izumi-san! Please open the door! Izumi-san!"

There was no response from the other side. Rei was beginning to lose his trained composure again. He was two angry thoughts from simply kicking the door in. He convinced himself to calm down, as property damage wouldn't do anyone any favors. He had to admit, the kissing scene had been a surprise to him as well. It wasn't included in the script he had looked over before arriving. He definitely would have prevented such a thing from happening if that had been the case. It was too late to make any last minute changes, he thought.

He would have to convince Izumi to continue with the filming, as much as the poor boy's dignity was hurting. But the whole 'convincing' ploy was out of Rei's ball park of expertiese. He would have to call _him_ again.

He dialed the number and was immediately connected to Shougo, who answered the call cheerfully. "Sorry to bother you, Shougo. Do you have a minute?"

"Hm? What's wrong?"

"We're in the middle of filming that Happy Wedding commercial right now, but there was a kiss scene, so Izumi is now hiding in his dressing room in terror."

"Aw, that's rough!"

"Can you call Izumi and talk to him?"

"Sure thing."

Rei thought the connection had glitched out. He was hearing double of Shougo's voice through the speaker. Once he caught movement in the corner of his eye, he realized he wasn't hearing an overlap of only Shougo's voice. He was also looking at him.

"Hello," Shougo greeted.

"What do you mean hello?!"

"I was worried about Izumi, so..."

Rei grabbd the lapels of Shougo's vest. "Aren't you in the middle of recording in London right now?!"

"I just couldn't come up with good lyrics. And, as I was struggling with them, I remembered today's Izumi's commercial shoot. So, I dropped in!"

"It is not just 'dropping in' when you fly from London to Tokyo! Don't treat it like a quick trip to the store to buy ice cream!" He released his vest, calming down. "It might be for the best. Go persuade Izumi to come out of hiding and finish the commerical."

Rei had had such a problem with getting Izumi just to open the door, he wondered how it would be possible.

Shougo knocked on the door twice before calling out. "Izumi! It's Shougo-" The door opened before he could begin his pleas to let him inside. Before the singer stepped into the room, he turned to Rei. "If I succeed, you should reward me later." He quickly entered the room before Rei decided to reward the remark with a punch.

The awkward aura left in the wake of Izumi's abrupt fleeing had settled in the church set. The extras had dispersed on their impromptu break to get something to eat, relax, or just hang around and chat with the others.

An assistant had gotten off the phone with the hotel front desk and relayed their message to the director, who sat on a pew with his arms crossed.

"The hotel said they can accomodate us for one night. But from what Nishihara's agent told us, he has an appointment scheduled this afternoon that he can't delay."

"We wouldn't want to inturrupt his schedule..." said the director idly, although it was _his_ schedule that was getting thrown out of whack because of the strange hiccup with the actors.

"It's surprising how innocent a girl Izumi-san turned out to be, huh?" The Assisstant marveled, her hands resting on the pew's back. "Though her innocence actually looks really great in the commercial."

"I suppose."

"Director?" said a voice to his left. Looking up, the director found himself being addressed by their groom.

"Ah, Nishihara-kun! Sorry about all this."

The boy looked calm, though his eyes held a manner of business-like seriousness that seemed both unbecoming of such a gentle face, but also made it all the more intimidiating. "It's fine. I wanted to discuss something with you.."

The room was dark, as there were no windows to allow natural light. Shougo flipped the switch, but his little brother was nowhere to be seen in the empty dressing room, until a young lady in a pink wedding dress stepped out from behind the standing divider.

"Shougo..." Izumi whimpered with still wet eyes.

Shougo was rather oblivious to the embarrassment Izumi was feeling as he was overcome by the sight of such a cute image. He rushed over and embraced him in a tight hug.

"You are so adorable! That's my sweet little sister!"

Izumi bristled at the comment. "What do you mean 'sister'?!"

Shougo sat on the couch while Izumi relayed the events of the morning.

"So, you kissed him?" He finally asked. Izumi nodded. "Oh. So?"

"What's with the blase reaction?! It was my first kiss!"

"What are you freaking out about? A little peck like that? That's just like a hello kiss! I've given you pecks like that since we were little."

Izumi was irked at his brother's lack of sympathy for his situation. Then again, Shougo had always been the more care-free type of a brother. He had done most of his schooling abroad, where such greeting customs were probably normal. He looked away from him, not realizing how lady-like he looked with his hands clasped in front of him. "Kisses between family members don't count. My first kiss was going to be with a girl like LalaLulu... or so I thought." Another wave of sobs overcame the poor boy.

"Well, it's happened now, so there's no changing it." Shougo's nonchalant air continued as he sat crosslegged on the couch while Izumi cried again. "And once you've done it once, a second or third kiss is all the same. So let's go finish the commercial!"

Izumi wiped away his tears with his gloved hand. "I refuse!"

"Oh, really? Well, that's a shame..." Shougo said, disappointed. "Since I brought along a super-special reward for you. Now it's just going to go to waste."

Despite his annoyance with his uncaring brother, he looked over at the comment. What he saw knocked all upset with Shougo out the window. His brother held up a body pillow with the image of LalaLulu on one side, in a position like she was lying down on a bed.

"Th-that's Kadoyama Shoten's Weekly Oldtype 20th Anniversary special thank-you gift! Only five people could win one! A limited-edition LalaLulu life-size body pillow!" He practically leapt at the thing as Shougo held it up. Then, he pulled it away.

"Precisely! If you do a good job with the commercial, it's all yours. What will you do?"

Izumi stared at the pillow. An item so close, yet so far, barred by the condition that he had to go through with the commercial, otherwise he would _never_ own this item. The alarm clock had been an easy acceptable offer, but now, he wasn't sure he'd be able to agree to these terms. The felt tears welling up again at the denied merchandise. He dissolved into tears again, feeling like his heart was being ripped in two.

"I want... the pillow." He strained.

Rei receieved a text message from Shougo on his phone. While the rock star left, Rei and the triplets moved in on the exhausted but happy Izumi. He needed to be refreshed with make up, as he had cried most of it off. They had little time to spare if they wanted to get the commercial wrapped up by their goal of the end of the day.

The pair rushed back to the set and were met with the director.

"We sincerely apologize for this." Rei said as he bowed.

Izumi bowed as well. "I- I'm very sorry."

"No, we apologize for our lack of consideration." The Director waved his hand dismissively.

"Please rest easy. We've taken out the kissing scene." The assistant added. "Nishihara-san managed to convince the director. He said he felt bad making an innocent girl kiss someone for work."

Behind them, Izumi could see Nishihara standing with a costume staff member who was adjusting his tux to look picture perfect.

"I decided, as well, that I'd like to refocus the emphasis on the pair's purity." The Director went on. "We apologize for the abrupt change, but do you think you could do it?"

"Thank you very much for being so accommodating." Rei answered. "We have no problem with that."

"Then I'll explain the changes to you." The Assisstant said.

 _He really is.. a good person_ , thought Izumi.

Everyone was back in their places as before, as they thought better to start filming from the very beginning. The pews were filled with people, the groom awaited his bride at the later. The doors opened, and without hesitation, Izumi forwent the traditional march of a bride and rushed down the aisle. The bride was so excited to be wed, she simply couldn't wait. The groom held out his hand, however, the bride ignored it and went in for a close embrace, practically leaping at him in a flutter of pink satin.

The groom shared in the bride's enthusiam, hugging her close with his chin rested to the side of the bride's head. In the audience, the pre-wed bride looked on in inspired awe as the groom took the bride by the hand and pulled her away down the aisle she had run down. The preist looked on hopelessly as the happy couple fled the church, ready to begin their life as a man and wife.

"And that's a wrap for the day!" Announced an assistant as everyone was gathered again in the church proper.

Nishihara and Izumi stood at the altar again, not as a wedded couple, but simply actors in costume. The extras were slowly starting to be filed out of the room.

"Good work today." Nishihara said in a gentle tone.

Izumi looked over at him.

"You tried really hard. I'm proud of you."

"Uh, right- I'm very sorry!" Izumi bowed.

Nishihara observed the gesture with curiousity.

"I caused you all kinds of trouble today. And not just today, but ten years ago, too."

Nishara raised a hand to dismiss the apology. "Not at all. These kinds of things always happen on set in some way or another. I should apologize to you, as it was my unreasonable request that brought you here in the first place. I wasn't sure if you would have come at all, considering how you disappeared after the first wedding shoot."

"But it ended up being really fun." Izumi added. "It's all thanks to you that everything turned out well. Thank you very much!"

Nishihara looked at the small bride, eyes wide with surprise as the sudden cheerfulness she displayed. Suddenly he was reminded of the wedding shoot years ago.

 _The poor girl had finally calmed down, but was more amazed that it was some sort of magic the lucky charm posessed._

 _"All the nervousness is gone!"_

 _"I told you. My grandmother gave it to me."_

 _"Wow! Your grandma must be a wizard!"_

 _"Maybe she is. So, want to give it another try?"_

 _"Okay! Thank you!"_

Nishihara had smiled then, and was smiling the same now, quietly marveling at how little the girl had changed - besides age. Before anything more could be said, Rei approached the couple.

"Izumi-san, we should get going."

"Ah, well then, " Izumi bowed politely to Nishihara. "excuse me."

As the bride turned to leave, something caught Nishihara's attention and he quickly grabbed Izumi's hand. The boy was stunned by the sudden gesture, but before he could ask what was wrong, three women approached the two. They were of the older variety, older than either of them at least, but looked positively gushing like school girls as they addressed the groom.

"Nishihara-kun! May I shake your hand?" An extra with short hair and a red dress asked.

"May I have a photo with you?" Asked another woman in a green dress.

"Can I have your autograph?" Asked another.

The loud tones of the women caught the attention of all the other extra women in the room, who also suddenly seemed keen to get a photograph or an autograph with the groom. Suddenly three women turned into fifteen and the room was filled with excited chatter and requests.

Izumi was rescused from the turmoil of squealing women by Rei, who saw him safely to the doors leading to the hallways of the hotel. "It's a bit of a roundabout trek, but e can get back to your dressing room using this hallway. I'll give you the directions, so please head there yourself."

Izumi looked at him curiously, however, the manager went on. "Turn left at the first intersection, then right at the fork in the hallway. Then left and left again at the next two intersections, go past the elevator and turn left, then just before the sofas, turn right, and left again at the next two intersections and you're there!"

"Okay, turn left at the first intersection, then..." The instructions had gone in one ear and out the other.

'Now then, I'll go back and save Nishihara-san."

"Wait, can you repeat-!"

The same women from before suddenly appeared beside him. "Are you a celebrity, too?" Asked the starstruck woman.

"Oh, she's so cute!" The other gushed. "Can I get your autograph?"

Izumi didn't want to be trampled over by a wave of dresses and heels. He took off down the hallway in as fast a sprint he could manage in the dress shoes.

Second intersection, turn left. Go straight. Turn right. Or was it left? The green painted hallways seemed never ending, and every intersection looked identical to the last. Without proper signage, Izumi wasn't sure if he was going somewhere, or just walking in a giant square. The sounds of the church shoot had long since died away into a silence broken only by the sound of his dress rustling.

"Every where looks the same. It's like a videogame dungeon.." He muttered. How long had he been walking? He felt exhausted. Or perhaps the energy he spent throughout the day was finally tapering off. He leaned with a hand against the wall for support.

"My feet really hurt.." He stepped out of the white high heel to look down. His feet ached, and the inside corner was rubbed raw. He bent down to fix his shoe back on when something popped out of the fold of his dress. The small yellow-blue hued marble clinked to the floor and rolled away across the tile.

"Nishihara's lucky charm. I forgot I borrowed it."

He removed both shoes and held them in one hand as he fetched the marble. Then he realized something. A notice posted on the door read his name.

"Oh, my dressing room! I somehow got here even while wandering around." He said in relief. He picked up the marble between his index, middle, and thumb finger and brought it closer to look at. "You made my nervousness go away and then lead me to my room. You've rescued me three times now." He smiled.

Footsteps approached from down the hallway, but it was the voice that startled him.

"Izumi-san," said the gentle voice of Nishihara. He looked up to see him approaching in a casual manner. He looked all right, except he lacked his outer jacket and wore only the undershirt, vest, and tie.

"Ah, Nishihara-san... are you okay?"

"I'm fine," the boy smiled. "Although, having _that_ many women wanting to talk to me at once was quite an experience. I managed to slip away by distracting them with my jacket. I'm not sure how it worked, but it did. What about yourself? You were kneeling on the floor just now."

"Oh, I'm okay. I just-"

"It's hard walking in high heels all day, isn't it. Especially if you're feet aren't used to them."

Izumi looked down, he was still holding his shoes in one hand, leaving him to walk barefoot.

Nishihara pointed behind him to the couch at the end of the hallway. "Why don't you have a seat there?"

Izumi was a little lost at the suggestion, but followed it. He took a seat on the couch, which brought some relief to his poor body. He hadn't realized he had been on his feet most of the day. His feet ached even more with the weight taken off. He had expected Nishihara to take the seat beside him, but instead he found the groom kneeling in front of him. Izumi started when he felt a hand touch his foot and lift it up.

"Ah! Wait, what are you- ow!" He tried to pull his foot away but found he was unable to move. Nishihara held it in his hands, but was applying pressure to the underside with both of his thumbs.

"High heels are a pain, aren't they?" He asked, amused.

Though it hurt, there was an odd sense of relief each time his hands removed the pressure. Then he switched feet and gave the same treatment to the other. It was soothing. When he looked down at his hand, he remembered the lucky charm. He held it up.

"I still have your marble. You can have it back."

Nishihara looked from the marble, back to Izumi. "It's okay. I want you to have it."

"Eh? But isn't it important to you?"

"It is, but I feel that getting to see you again was more important."

Izumi was stunned by the comment. He held the marble in his hand, unknowingly still in an offering gesture. He looked at Nishihara, taking in his tranquil features. He was so pretty, Izumi thought idly, made even more so by the gentle sound of his voice and his soft words.

"The marble..." Nishihara turned the topic down to the small item in his hand. "It's similar to your eye color, don't you think? Every time I see it, I couldn't help but remember you. I think... it was destined to be with you."

Izumi looked down to the marble and brought it close. He smiled, genuinely warmed by the gift. "Thank you. I'll take good care of it."

Nishihara abruptly looked away, clasping a hand to mouth. Izumi looked at him quizzically. Speaking through his fingers, it was evident something was amusing Nishihara to the point of a small giggle fit.

"I'm so sorry," he strained. "It's really hard to contain it, it's just-" He looked directly at Izumi with smiling eyes. "You are are just so... _adorable._ I almost can't stand it."

Izumi was rendered more confused by the sudden comment. Was he supposed to take it as a compliment? He didn't exactly want to be called 'adorable' since he was a guy.

"To think the little girl on the set ten years ago would grow up to be as cute as you are. I think I might be in love."

Everything stopped. The hallway was dead silent, devoid of anyone else besides the two of them. But inside, Izumi's mind was screaming in disbelief. Was he getting a declaration of love from someone he hadn't seen in ten years? How was he supposed to react to this? Nishihara thought he was a girl all this time, and now, what was he supposed to do now?

The door to his dressing room opened, a slightly drowsy Shougo stepping out. "I thought I heard voices.." He said under his breath as he looked down the hall. From his view, all he could see was Izumi sitting on the sofa, with the groom kneeling down in front of him. Izumi was looking rather shocked by something. Immediately, Shougo's mind kicked into gear.

"Wait just a minute!" He shouted, rushing in on the couple and grabbing the back of Nishihara's collar to haul him to his feet. The two were startled by his sudden appearance. Izumi bolted up.

"Sh-Shougo-!"

Shougo was glaring daggers into Nishihara as he still held onto his collar. "Don't think that just because you're both in wedding gear means that you can go asking Izumi to be your actual wife!" He chastised.

Nishihara coughed, as his airway was being pressed against by the front of the suit. "W-wait, that's not-!" He gasped.

Shougo released his clothes and grabbed Izumi around the shoulders to haul him closer to him and away from the groom. "I have no intention of handing over my precious little brother so easily!" He pointed accusingly at Nishihara. "If you want to date Izumi, you'll have to defeat me first!"

"I never said that I wanted your little brother." Nishihara retorted in a tense tone. There was a small silence. He brought a bent finger to his chin and looked at the pair quizzically. "Hm... little brother?"

Shougo smiled. "Yeah." He took hold of Izumi faster than he could protest and in one swift movement - as Izumi lacked any breasts to hold up the form of the dress - pushed the entire bodice down to his waist. It was a jarring sight. The feminine face and hair paired with the flat chested torso of a boy, with the pink dress still flowing out around his waist.

Nishihara's hand flew to his mouth as he looked down in surprise. "Oh my.."

Izumi hauled up the dress back to its proper place and looked indignantly at his brother. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?!"

Shougo didn't take his eyes off of Nishihara. He had one more trick of proof up his sleeve. He grabbed the bottom of Izumi's dress and pulled it upwards with a flourish, to reveal a once and for all, tell all, proof that Izumi was in fact a boy.

The only reaction Nishihara provided was a widening of his eyes as he was essentially flashed. His eyes flicked away a second later to save the boy some dignity as he was now hollering at his older brother in retaliation. His hand was still placed over his mouth as he looked down and away from the couple, perhaps in shame.

Shougo was laughing at his stunt, having thoroughly crushed Nishihara's interest right into the ground from what he read of his reaction.

The groom was still for a couple seconds, before he closed his eyes and gave a slight nod of his head. His manner read a distinct 'what can you do' impression, which cut Shougo's laughing short and sparked curiosity from Izumi. He had just been flashed to a man who had practically proclaimed his love for him, but his reaction was slightly underwhelming.

"Well, if we're going to be honest." He said rather carelessly. He loosened his tie and pulled it off before undoing the buttons of his dress shirt in quick succession. When the button was unfastened to his midriff, he pulled open the fabric. Beneath the layers of clothing was a slim frame, and where was expected to be the bare chest of a man, was a white sports bra. As most men didn't have a need to wear such things, both Sena's immediately released what was happening.

As further proof, Nishihara reached up to his head and pulled at what was now revealed to be a wig, and removed the wig cap. After plucking out several hair pins, a tumble of dark brown hair fell down his back and over his shoulders. All at once, it was as if an exclusionary charm had disappeared. The groom standing before them was instead replaced by the disheveled, yet collected, figure of a young woman.

Izumi's eyes widened in shock as he recognized the woman now. Her dark hair, and bright blue eyes were the same as the woman in the perfume commercial and promotional posters across the city.

"I think both of our agents had the same idea all this time." Nishihara spoke, even his - her voice sounded lighter and more feminine.

It was instead Shougo and Izumi's turn to be absolutely dumbfounded by this new information.

Izumi was the first to shout in distress. "Shougo! You- you flashed me to a girl!" He wailed, rushing to the door of his dressing room and slamming it behind him.

Nishihara watched with a mild curiosity, leaning slightly to look around Shougo, who seemed to have been petrified by his own foolish actions. "Perhaps, it would have been better if I hadn't said anything." She muttered in hindsight. "To think all this time... "

Shougo dropped to the floor on his hands and knees, pressing his forehead against the cold tile. "I'm so sorry!" He shouted at the floor. "What I did was absolutely horrible! I never should have done something like that to a lady!"

Nishihara held up both hands, visibly startled by the sudden gesture. "It's all right. Although I think you should be apologizing to Izumi, rather than myself."

A voice called from down an intersection of the hallway. "Nishihara-kun, we have to get going if we're going to make it there in time."

"I'm coming!" Nishihara replied, then looked back down to Shougo. "Tell Izumi that everything is perfectly fine, okay?"

Shougo remained on the floor as Nishihara departed down the hall. It wasn't until Rei approached moments later that he noticed the floor groveling singer.

"What on earth are you doing?"

* * *

I apologize for any disappointment in the whole reveal aspect. Honestly this story was a little plot-gremlin running around the inside of my head that wouldn't calm down unless I actually wrote the dumb thing. Now that I have about 15 chapters, it's become really quiet so I guess this did the trick. I'm just uploading it to see if anyone else might enjoy a change in the story, as... risky it might be?

I imagine Nishihara to look like one of those women in Japanese musicals like Rose of Versailles where the women play as the men (cept Oscar...I think). Like dang pretty boy.


	4. Chapter 4

_A few days later_

His alarm clock had been going off for nearly fifteen minutes now. Previously, LalaLulu's voice had needed to only play through once or twice before Izumi awoke and shut it off. It repeated over and over, the same tone, the same words. It was a miracle that he was sleeping through it. He slept so soundly curled around his LalaLulu body pillow, so sucked into his dreams that he couldn't hear the real world calling for him.

Rei had lost some of his patience at the delay in Izumi waking up. He rapped a knuckle on the door for what felt like the hundredth time that morning. "Izumi-san! It's morning! Do you want to be late for class?" He tried to shout through the door, but felt drowned out by the wood and the chipper voice spouting from the alarm clock. He paused for some form of confirmation that Izumi had woken up but none came.

His patience having finally run out, he slammed open the door. "Izumi! Wake up!"

Finally the boy responded, waking up groggily and turning off the alarm. After setting on his glasses, he blinked blearily at the time displayed. His mind snapped awake at once upon realizing what time it was. "Is it this late already?!" He asked in disbelief.

Rei had automatically moved to the closet where he was tossing out clothes for Izumi to wear.

"Why didn't you wake me up?!" Izumi demanded as he pulled on each article of clothing.

"I tried more than once!" Rei retorted.

As Izumi pulled on his shoes downstairs near the front door, Rei continued to reprimand him. "You've been oversleeping lately. What are you doing up so late every night?"

"What am I doing? I'm drawing manga!" Izumi said proudly.

Rei seemed nonplussed by the response. He reached into his pocket and held out an item. "In any case, Izumi-san, do you know what this is?" He held the small yellow-blue hued marble in his hand. "The housekeeper, Ichihara-san, found it while she was doing the laundry."

Izumi stared in wide-eyed surprise at the marble. "I forgot about that! It's a good luck charm I borrowed from Nishihara!"

"Good luck charm?" Rei echoed. "It looks like an ordinary glass marble to me," he held it up between is fingers to look at it against a light source. "There's even a crack in it."

Izumi took the marble and looked at it for himself. "A crack? No way." Rei was correct, atop the blue hued part of the marble there was a small hairline crack. "It must have happened when I dropped it before.." He concluded, disheartened. As he gripped the marble, it slipped from his fingers and hit the floor, ricocheting around the small entrance area several times before crawling to a stop, covered in scratches and cracks.

"Ah!" Izumi screamed as he picked it up carefully in both hands. "Wh-what do I do now?!"

Nishihara had been so kind to give him the marble, when it had belonged to her grandmother. He had promised her he would take care of it and now it's had been less than a week and it was already broken. She had been such a gentle person before, if she found out he had broken it, would she be angry? He felt a shiver rush through his body at the thought of Nishihara being angry...

"R-Rei, you couldn't go and apologize to Nishihara, could you?" He stammered. "If I went... I'd probably die."

Rei looked unimpressed by Izumi's reaction. He pushed up the frame of his glasses. "Is that the sort of person you want to be? Wouldn't someone on the path towards respectable adulthood own up to his mistakes honestly and apologize? Izumi-san, if you continue to simply run away from anything painful or unpleasant, you will never become the kind of manga artist you hope to be."

His words rang true. As much as he hated it, it wouldn't be right for anyone else to confess to the situation. "Y-you're right. How do you think I should apologize? By kneeling down?"

"You don't need to make it such a complex matter. First and foremost, you need to go find a glass marble that looks like this one."

"Eh?"

"If you return it with a guiltless expression, you should be fine."

"Eh?! What happened to the path to adulthood?!"

Rei acted as if this were some advice handed down by the gods themselves. "This is what's called 'worldly wisdom.' It is a necessity for navigating the real world smoothly."

"Adults are..."

"Do you have a better idea? Then do as I say!"

"R-roger!" Izumi agreed, taking his advice to heart before leaving the house.

"He didn't have to take the situation so seriously... He really is still a child." Rei remarked in the emptiness of the entrance way. The marble had been ordinary, he wondered why it was considered a good luck charm in the first place. It wasn't like a talisman or a rabbit's foot. And yet, it was that same marble that apparently helped Izumi through finishing the commercial.

#

Meanwhile, across town, the door to Suzuka Nishihara's room slowly opened. In entered Teiji Sasaki , her agent and assistant, holding a small cup of coffee.

"Suzuka-san, it's time to wake up," she gently called into the dark bedroom before set down the cup and switched on the light.

Lying on the bed buried under a fluffy duvet and pillows, a mound slowly moved until a tousle-haired head popped out against the white. Her eyes were half closed, the grip of sleep still holding onto her tightly. With such an expression, it was evident that she didn't exactly wake up before getting up.

Teiji was pushing open the curtains to reveal the city sky-line and allowing the dazzling sunlight to enter the room. "You have your photo shoot with Marcy's today, remember?" There was a distant sounding mumble from the bed. "Then after that a dinner date with Seb- Suzuka-san?"

The woman moved sluggishly, setting her feet on the floor, though she seemed to be moving on auto-pilot. Her expression hadn't changed as she stared at the floor.

"Is something wrong? Did you not sleep well?"

Suzuka remained quiet a long moment before she finally droned out, "...pink...elephant..."

Teiji was at a complete loss as to what she was mumbling about.

#

Once classes had ended, Izumi followed Rei's instruction. First, he had to figure out what kind of store or boutique sold marbles. The only place he could think of were jewelry stores. He searched up a list of places to check, hopefully within the area of his school or home. Luckily, most were within reasonable walking distance.

He never knew so many marbles could possibly exist in the world, varying in size and color. Some had thin ribbons of colors twisted through the middle, others were full of frozen bubbles, some had a multitude of colors twisted all around. At one point, he ended up distracted by a bin of magnetic marbles. Perhaps, he could have gotten somewhere had he asked for assistance, but any time the opportunity arose, he found he was arrested by anxiety and would vacate the store, even if he'd only just entered.

The last store he had on his list had been the only one located a train's ride away in Shibuya, a popular shopping district that was bound to have a marble like what he was looking for. No such luck.

He waited with a throng of people at the intersection. Six stores and not one had the two-tone hued marble like Nishihara's. This worried him all the more. Just how rare had this lucky charm been? If he couldn't find a replacement, he would _have_ to apologize to her. And even if he had found one, he admitted, he was sure the guilt over breaking such an important trinket would weigh his conscience down until he fessed up anyway. It was better to be honest up front.

His wandering mind had been brought back to reality when he heard the sound of wedding bells ringing. He was convinced that sound had installed some sort of Pavlovian reaction as he felt is body somewhat cringe at the first toll.

Behind him on a large advertisement billboard inside one of the towering buildings, the Happy Wedding commercial played. Izumi realized this was the first time he had seen it officially, through the camera's point of view. Special effects of bubbles, sparkles, and a hazy golden glow were added to make the scenes much more wistful and fairy-tale like. He stared up in awe. _That's me, isn't it?_ He asked himself as though someone would correct him.

He caught an exchange between a trio of girls were within hearing distance.

"Oh, it's that new commercial! The one that shows the kids getting married."

"How cute! Do you think they're the same actors?"

"They look the same. He grew up so handsome, don't you think?"

"He looks like a Prince."

"The girl looks like a Princess, do you think she's a model?"

"I don't know."

"I wonder if the two of them are dating?"

Izumi was grateful the light had changed and everyone started walking. He felt the rising heat of embarrassment seep into his face thinking about not only the commercial and the gossip he overheard, but everything that had happened behind the scenes right down to the very end. And to think he'd hear himself being discussed like that. And what if they had looked over and recognized him? His thoughts muddled on it all the way back on the train to campus. Truth be told, he had worried that people would make a connection and realize it had been him all along. Izumi Sena, the cross dresser who gets married in commercials, was what he was preparing himself for.

But... no such confrontations happened. In fact, no one noticed him any more than they usually did. As much as he hated the lime-light, he was a little bummed.

He didn't want to return home so early, so he went to the research club room as he did most days. Two of them were in the middle of a discussion regarding a heroine of a manga, the other, Kuroi, sat quietly reading his book. Only Izumi seemed to be doing a task involving more effort than reading. He scribbled away at the blank page, slowly sketching together an image. He only had a month before the magazine's publishing deadline. He had no time to lose.

"Sena, what are you drawing?" Kuroi asked, his attention caught by the determination on the boy's face.

Startled, Izumi tried to cover his work with bent arms. "I-it's a secret!"

Kuroi looked unbothered by the suspicious behavior. "Some kind of contest entry?" He offered, "Or a doujinshi?"

Izumi dropped his head onto his folded arms to hide the embarrassment at such a suggestion. "I said it's a secret! Don't look at it!"

Kuroi took the obvious hint and dropped all further investigation.

Izumi was horribly shy about showing others his work. It wasn't ready yet. He would keep his work a secret until he won the prize for the contest. The thought made him so pleased, so much so it was a visible expression to the others in the club, who were a little creeped out by it. They knew better than to pry at whatever was going on in his head.

#

In another district of the city, Suzuka and Teiji had arrived on the upper floor of the photographer studio. The pair entered the first of two joined rooms. It was spacious, with a high ceiling. This room could only be considered an organized mess. Racks upon racks of hanging clothes were lined against the wall, and to one side of the room, two rows were close together forming a small aisle. To the other side was a mini-salon, with a large landscape mirror, chairs, and a counter space not only for hair supplies, but make-up as well.

A few staff members were dotted about the room. One was plucking out clothing according to a list she held in her hands, another was setting up make up brushes and small compact cases on the salon counter. Voices chattered above the gentle music that was playing on a stereo.

"Good morning," greeted one of the staff members as the two crossed the room. They returned the greeting as they made their way towards a couple sitting down near a large table. Pinned behind it was a large billboard covered in photos of models wearing outfits that were presumably in the room with them.

"Ah, Suzuka-san, Teiji-san, good morning." A well, but casually dressed man stood up and gave a polite bow to the women. They returned the gesture.

"Good morning, Yahiro-san," Suzuka returned, "Thank you for having us here today."

Yahiro looked rather pleased that the day could finally get started. He clapped his hands together and paused a moment to move into the right mental gear. "Today, I'll be having you model three outfits, the same ones you tried the other day. And we finally managed to bring in the child model who will be wearing the same style. You'll be working with her for the shoot."

An older woman approached the group, at her side was the child the designer had mentioned. She looked no older than eight or nine, but her expression was very bright and excited for one so young. Suzuka's immediate impression was that this child felt fine in such an environment. Her expression made her appear much more mature. Her second impression, was that this child had an odd striking resemblance to someone. Her hair was auburn and done into two side ponytails.

Her pause in this reflection passed quickly as she turned to face the child. "Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Suzuka."

"My name is Nene Miyono. Thank you for working with me today." The girl bowed forward politely.

Teiji had a hand to her cheek in mild awe. "My, what a well mannered girl."

The assistant who had walked over with Nene gestured an open palm to the other side of the room near the dressing room stalls. "Your clothes are hanging there. Please wear the first outfit on the rack. We'll see you on the set."

The set was nothing more than a large white backdrop sheet in a room slightly smaller than the first. There were two boxes, one large and one small, decorated in abstract lines of various colors. Perfect for sitting, standing, or leaning on. For something as small as this, a full staff wasn't necessary. The only other people in the room besides both outfit wearers were the photographer, designer, and two assistants.

Suzuka stood to one side, behind the large, white flash umbrella as the make up artist applied a final touch of lip gloss to her done up face. Models were praised for their natural complexion; make-up artists were praised for their ability to make foundation and concealers look 'natural', but still, even with these small touch ups, Suzuka's face looked pristine. Her hair had been blown out into voluminous curls, with very little persuasion needed as her hair was naturally rather thick.

She had changed from her long sleeved blouse and jeans into a single baby-blue dress number with a ruffled collar, no sleeves, and a layered skirt ending at her knees. Beige high heels completed the simple look. Nene was done up in a similar fashion, only her dress was much simpler, though still within the same design family.

"All right, go ahead and get on set and we'll start testing for lighting."

Suzuka was joined by Nene against the white back drop. At first, the child wasn't sure she was expected to do. She inspected the large box, knocking on it to test its sturdiness, but remained mostly stationary to observe her painfully bright surroundings.

"You don't have to do anything, Nene. He's just testing to make sure the picture comes out okay." Her assistant said.

Nene looked over to Suzuka, who had been standing in front of the larger box in a rather imposing stance with her hands on her hips, as if challenging the camera that was pointed at her. There was a bright flash from the umbrellas as the photographer snapped the photo, then smiled as he captured several more. Nene followed suit, placing her hands on her hips and looking mildly less intimidating but challenging all the same.

Suzuka broke out into a small fit of giggles at her own seriousness. She turned to Nene, who lost her confidence when she had stopped her pose. Suzuka knelt down to be at eye level with the child. Her hand had reached for a pocket that didn't exist on this dress, not that there would have been anything in it had there been a pocket anyway. She realized, with a small drop of her heart, that her marble was no longer in her possession. She had given it to Izumi. Her lucky charm was gone.

Nene had noticed the slight look of despair in Suzuka's face and looked at her curiously.

When she realized her expression had been noticed, she quickly replaced it with a smile. "Are you doing okay?"

Nene nodded with a growing, shy smile.

She had to think of something else. What was it young girls liked these days? An idea popped up. "He's still testing the lighting, so we can stand however we want. Do you want to do a Sailor Star pose?"

The child nodded with more enthusiasm.

The best photos were ones that looked like they weren't posed. Or rather, those were the more fun ones to take. Rather than standing stiffly in their attire, Suzuka distracted little Nene by striking up conversations that made them smile and laugh and made for a relaxed atmosphere. The camera flashes fired off over and over as many parts of their exchange were photographed. When Suzuka had to be photographed alone, her demeanor changed. She became much more serious, her expression monotone yet striking.

They changed into their next outfits, lacy white dresses with blue sashes and hem lines. A blue, ocean theme had been added to the set via a sky colored back faux-window, table and vase.

By the time they were in their third outfit, it was well into the afternoon. They were taking a break, not only for the models and photographer, but for the poor camera that was beginning to overheat from use.

Suzuka sat on the larger of the two boxes with Nene sitting in her lap. She held Nene's wrists and was sending her into a fit of giggles as she animated her arms to make silly gestures and poses, all the while singing silly children's tunes from commercials or shows that she remembered.

All in all, the photo shoot was a success. They would expect their photocopies to arrive for her portfolio within the next week, and the official poses to be selected and entered into the fashion catalog for the spring-summer line up.

As Suzuka waited for Teiji to fetch the car from the nearby garage, she spent her few last minutes entertaining Nene. She held onto her hand and swung it back and forth as they walked up and down the sidewalk leading to the high-rise's front doors. Once the car arrived and the door slid open, Suzuka waved the child a goodbye before climbing inside.

Finally away from the flashing lights and people telling her how to stand and where to look, Suzuka let out a small sigh of exhaustion. She pushed a small button on the console attached to the back of the passenger seat, a small mobile television screen to play something to hold her attention for the drive home.

"You've been very busy lately, Suzuka-san." Teiji remarked, glancing at her rear-view mirror towards where she was sitting. "Three photo shoots this week, plus a two days casting calls last week. I think you deserve a break."

"I've already had my break the entire month before that when I had nothing lined up." Suzuka replied idly, staring out the window at the passing buildings and trees in the hazy glow of the sunset. "It's nice to have something to do."

"There's nothing else on today's schedule, so you can take your time and relax."

Suzuka hummed a vague reply to her suggestion and returned to looking out the window. Not long into her daydreaming she heard the distinct violin of a wedding march. Her pale eyes blinked to the screen where the original Happy Weddings commercial was playing.

She stared at her younger self, her hair was cut so short, _too_ short. That incident with the chewed gum, she remembered. Now it was past her shoulder blades and gave no clear indication that it had ever been shorter than her shoulders. Though, her heart softened slightly when she saw Izumi. His smile was infectious, she didn't remember having to act like she had been happy he caught the bouquet. His eyes lit up when he was smiling, it was quite a sight. How was the poor boy doing? She wondered.

She had left when he was in a state of severe distress and that didn't quite sit well with her. If he was mad at her for concealing her identity, she wouldn't be upset, but not knowing exactly how he felt over the whole thing was conscience tugging. Stranger still, was that even during those years in between, she had always kept an eye out for him. Her marble was a constant reminder that he had existed, at some point. But finding him again would have been a needle in a haystack the size of Tokyo, if he hadn't signed up with a talent agency, which he hadn't. Happy Wedding had certainly strung together a strange twist of fate. Still, she hadn't seen him in those ten years and this was how their reunion was going to end?

"Suzuka-san? Suzuka-san!" Teiji's voice cut through her pensive thoughts.

Suzuka realized the car had stopped moving.

"We've arrived at your house."

"I think I figured out how I want to spend my evening,"

"Eh?"

"Might we stop at the Sena house?"

"Sena? Oh, you mean Seiya-san and Nagisa-san?"

"Yes."

"I don't see why not... Oh! But don't you think that's a bad idea? They don't know you're-" Teiji looked in the rear view mirror and was met with a Suzuka staring at the window with the exact expression of a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar. "... You yanked the cat out of the bag, didn't you?"

In a flat tone that in no way denied this fact, she replied, "Yes, ma'm. By the tail."

Teiji gave a wry smile, but she could hardly have expected nothing less to happen with her client.

#

"Nagisa-san, Seiya-san, we should be heading out soon." Said Rei as he closed the door to the lounge room. Nagisa and Seiya were dressed to the nines, she in a lovely yellow evening dress and her hair swept up in an elegant bun, he in a black tux and sash tie.

"All set!" Nagisa trilled.

"Me, too."

"Yay! I love parties!"

"Shall we, madam?" Seiya held his hand out to his wife. "Will you do me the honor of allowing me to escort you?"

"Oh, my. Gladly!"

As they gushed over one another, the doorbell rang clear through to the speaker installed on the wall. Rei responded by pressing the receiver button to switch on the camera stationed at the door to see who it was.

"Yes?"

The small image of Nishihara appeared on the screen. "I apologize for not calling ahead. It's... Nishihara."

#

Nishihara stood in the entrance hall, not stepping over the raised platform and instead chose to bow her head.

"Ah. Nishihara-san! It's been a while since we last saw you!" Greeted Nagisa.

"Not since filming the commercial." Seiya added.

"What brings you to our home out of the blue?" Nagisa asked.

"I'm sorry for dropping by so suddenly. I was in the neighborhood. I remembered I had lent a lucky-charm of mine to Izumi."

"Oh, we're terribly sorry." Nagisa apologized. "You can feel free to wait here until Izumi gets back from school."

Nishihara bowed her head. "Thank you very much. But I don't want to impose."

"Nagisa and I have plans this evening, so we'll be stepping out, but please make yourself at home."

"Please, wait a moment." Rei interjected. "Izumi-san has club activities this evening. He won't be home until very late."

"Don't be silly," Nagisa smiled. "Just call him home early."

"But we can't have Nishihara-san waiting here by himself."

"Oh, he can handle being home alone for a little while, can't he?"

Nishihara smiled politely as he answered Nagisa. "Of course. Please don't mind me. It's like you won't even know I was here."

"That's not the issue-" Rei tried to protest. It seemed the Sena's had forgotten they were supposed to have a related 'niece' rather than a son when in front of Ryouma.

Seiya offered Nishihara a pair of guest slippers. "Well, let's not stand here talking about it."

"Absolutely! Come in, come in!"

Rei's silent protests went unheard as the three of them walked towards the kitchen to offer her something to eat. He pulled out his cellphone and sent a text to Izumi warning him of what surprise lay in store for him at home.


	5. Chapter 5

Izumi had hit a roadblock with his storyboard. Not only was he having to draw everything himself, he was also having to write the dialogue. At first, doing both had seemed so easy. But suddenly, his dialogue had run out of steam. A manga couldn't go anywhere without dialogue to carry it. He stared at the half-done panels on the paper, trying to think up what the conversation would be for this scene.

His brain wasn't coming up with anything. His club mates were once again having a debate on some character from the manga they were reading, but their words made useless noise to the boy. He tried to drown them out by holding his hands over his ears, but it didn't solve anything.

When he felt the vibration of his cellphone in his bag near his leg, he withdrew it to see who had texted him.

 _Come home right now! Nishihara is at the house asking for his marble back. We're heading out for work now, so I'll leave the rest to you. P.S. It seems the best option is to come clean and apologize. Good luck._

All thoughts of his manga were flung out the window in his sudden rising panic. He collected his things and rushed out of the club room, desperately dialing Rei's number and praying he would pick up. When he didn't, Izumi realized he was probably walking home to his own grave.

"I still haven't found a replacement marble," he whined as he reached the entrance to the school campus. _What do I do now?!_

 _#_

Nishihara had been seated on a green couch in the receiving room. Though the TV was on, she wasn't paying attention. She sat back with her legs crossed, hardly having touched her tea and snacks - only enough to seem polite that they didn't go completely to waste. She was pulling her hair out from the back of her blouse collar. Somehow, she had fooled them with this last minute trick to make her hair appear shorter again. Coupled with making sure no one got a view from the back, it seemed her disguise went off without a hitch. Which was both surprising, and yet oddly flattering. Once she had released her hair and fluffed it back up into its natural curl, she knew all she had to do was wait for Izumi to arrive.

Originally, she had thought about the entire visit being only for getting her marble back, but now that she thought of it, it seemed rather rude after she had told him to keep it. Perhaps, she was just sentimental over having had it since she was little. To suddenly be rid of it was a strange feeling. Either way, it was a good excuse to speak with him one more time.

She idly thought over what he might look like. She had seen him only twice in her lifetime now, and both times he had been wearing a pink dress. Equally, he had only seen her twice, both times in a suit and with shorter hair. What a strange way to meet someone.

The house was quiet, so much so, it made the already large estate seem even larger. She had only been taken to the receiving room, leaving the rest of the house unexplored, and therefore, much larger than it seemed to be. When she heard the sound of a door opening and closing, she would have been lying had she said she wasn't a little startled. She nearly wanted to duck against the sofa to pretend the room was empty.

At the oncoming footsteps, she was on her feet and setting her shirt and hair straight to make herself presentable. Not two seconds after she heard the footsteps, the door to the room opened and in entered the most flustered looking boy she had ever seen.

Before she could even get out a proper greeting, the boy thrust out his open cupped hands with the marble sitting in the middle. "Nishihara-san! I'm so sorry! There are cracks all over your good luck charm now!"

Nishihara blinked in wonder at the vision standing before her. Her right elbow was cupped in her left hand, with the knuckle of her right hand placed on her chin in severe concentration. She leaned forward to look the boy eye to eye, as even without the heeled shoes, she stood slightly above him. She looked him over from either side by leaning in both directions.

"Just has I suspected." She spoke in a grave voice, in the way one might speak to someone who was very ill.

Izumi opened his eyes at the strange reaction to his apology. "Eh?"

She her eyes flicked upwards to meet his. The serious expression melted into one of adoration. "You're absolutely adorable!"

He stared at her for a long moment, not out of dumbfounded shock but more so out of the strange realization that this was the first time he was seeing her out of a boy's costume. Her make up was done and her hair long and curled over her shoulders and down her back. She was every bit as womanly as he could imagine, right down to the silhouette of the sweater and jeans she wore, so much so it was amazing that she had passed for a boy twice.

This was definitely not the way he was expecting his apology to go. He was expecting anger or general upset. Instead, he found the pressure of his glasses frames lifted away from his head. He blinked at the change in perspective and clarity of the woman in front of him.

"Ah-hah," she said softly with a grin. She set his glasses back on with a finality as if there had been some debate of his appearance. "Cute with glasses and without."

Izumi was at a loss of reaction. Nishihara didn't seem to be at all bothered by the broken lucky charm. Had he been worrying all day for nothing?

"But I didn't come here to talk about how cute you are." She said with her arms crossed. "I can save that for another day. I had something I wanted to discuss with you."

The two took a seat on the couch, although Izumi seemed very awkward about the whole thing and sat like he had plywood taped to his spine. After all, he was alone in the house with a woman who was a near stranger to him, and yet here she was as casual as could be - although she remained very polite. She sat towards the edge of the sofa.

"What is it... you wanted to talk about?"

Nishihara looked over at him, her expression so serious, Izumi began to think she was about to chew him out for breaking her lucky charm. He braced himself for the cool, tranquil exterior of the woman to shatter into something angry and vengeful.

Her tone was bright and cheery, which seemed to clash with the words that came out of her mouth. "I've completely forgotten about the whole flashing incident!"

Izumi practically fell off the couch in stunned surprise. This entire visit was not going how he had thought it would at all! Nishihara looked surprised at his reaction, as if she hadn't said anything strange at all. "You didn't have to bring it up again!"

"No, I needed to. To clear my conscience. I wanted to apologize for a couple things during the commercial shoot. The biggest one being that I probably should have kept my big mouth shut. You seemed less traumatized thinking you had been exposed to boy. I'm sorry."

Izumi could feel his face beginning to redden and heat up. He gripped the fabric of his jeans tightly.

"That's my first apology; making an already possibly embarrassing situation even more so humiliating. That wasn't my intention. I thought if the air was clear on who we were, there'd be some sort of connection made instead. I wasn't thinking it through. Which is a fault of mine since I was a kid."

"I-it's fine." Izumi muttered. "It was more so Shougo's fault than your's."

Nishihara reached into her pant pocket and pulled out something small. For a second, Izumi thought it might have been another marble, to replace the one he'd broken. But it was impossible for her to know it was cracked in the first place.

"The second thing I wanted to discuss. Here." She offered the item in her hand. When he opened his to accept it, she dropped a small metal thimble into his hand. He stared at it for several seconds, trying to fathom just why this strange object was now in his possession. His confusion must have been evident as Nishihara smiled with a tilt of her head. "I'm giving you back your first kiss."

"K-kiss? Kiss?!" In the event of having been _exposed_ , Izumi had forgotten the entire scenario involving the surprise kiss during the first run of the commercial. If he hadn't been blushing before, he definitely was now as he felt his entire head heat up within seconds. He felt he was glowing like a beacon.

Nishihara seemed oblivious to the boy's flustered behavior as she went on, "In the story Peter Pan, Wendy gives Peter a thimble because he thinks a kiss is a physical object that can be held. So, this," she pointed to the thimble, "is the kiss I took from you without permission. I'm giving it back."

Izumi was considerably less flustered after hearing the explanation. A part of him felt rather.. touched at the gesture. He held the thimble between his fingers to get a clearer look at it. So this would be his first kiss, returned? "Ah... you.. you didn't have to do that. I'm fine with it, really." He stammered, admittedly unsure of how to respond.

"You're fine?" Nishihara looked at him curiously. "By the way you acted, I figured it had been a horrible event." She sat straight and pointed an index finger to the ceiling, acting quite matter-of-fact. "First kisses are very important. They shouldn't be wasted just for a commercial." Her eyes flicked towards him again, only this time there was a glint of mischievousness within them. A smile that didn't grace her lips but could easily be seen within her eyes. She leaned over slightly. "Unless, you _didn't_ mind after all?"

Izumi started, sitting upright. He felt his emotions were being overtaxed in a very short span of time. How much more he could handle before he either ran from the room or just collapsed in a panic, he wasn't sure. But he was very keen on seeing she was leaning awfully close. The distance between them on the couch had shrunk significantly. She was so close her knee bumped into his.

"Nishihara-san?"

She wagged a finger in time with her syllables. "Su-zu-ka."

He was a deer in the headlights. Frozen in place as this woman was leaning in, her eyes centered either on his or looking down to somewhere beneath his nose. "You're so cute, would you like me to give it back to you this way?" He heard her whisper. She placed a hand on his shoulder, her touch so gentle he might not have noticed had his mind not become acutely aware of everything. He closed his eyes as he felt the touch of a hand brush against his cheek and ear to the back of his head. Any second now, he would feel her pull his head forward, feel the warmth on his lips as they met with hers. He could almost imagine the faint sensation of body head. How odd that he felt a strange tickling sensation like butterflies in his stomach at the thought.

Then, she pulled back and withdrew her hand. The warmth that had collected between them dissipated. Izumi opened his eyes and found something held close for his consideration.

"You had a leaf in your hair."

His heart had not only stopped beating but it felt like it plummeted into the bottom of his stomach to squash the butterflies. He had no time to react to this, however, as the door to the receiving room had opened.

"Izumi-! Oh," said the voice of Shougo as he entered the room. "I didn't know you had company.."

"Shougo-san," Suzuka and sat back enough that there was a polite space between she and the boy on the couch. "It's nice to see you again." Any sign of flirtation had completely disappeared, leaving Suzuka to appear collected and polite, meanwhile Izumi was somehow drowning in flustered harassment.

Shougo approached the two.

"Shougo, what are you doing here?" Izumi finally managed to string together enough words to make a coherent sentence.

"I just finished the new album and decided to stop by. I do technically still live here you know." He added a tone to his voice to make him sound hurt. "Is something wrong, Nishihara?"

"Oh no, nothing's wrong." Suzuka waved away his concern."I just came to return something to Izumi that I took on accident." The boy flushed at this. "Since that's done, I'll be headed home." She stood up. "I'm sorry for dropping by unannounced."

"You don't wanna stay to eat something or anything?" asked Shougo.

"Oh no, I've imposed enough. Have a good night," She bowed to the both of them before leaving the room.

Shougo was ultimately confused by the brevity of their meeting, and how quickly she departed. He leaned against the back of the couch to look down at his brother.

"Did something happen?"

Izumi went rigid, and shot to his feet like he had been pinched or shocked by the sofa. "No! Nothing happened! She just wanted to give me something that's all!" He rattled off like an automated machine. "I'll be going to bed now!"

And with that Shougo was left alone in the room, completely confused.

#

Several days later, Rei had some free time and found company with Shougo. The two occupied the receiving room, Rei not knowing what exactly had happened within this room only a short time ago.

"You finished the album, I trust?"

"Of course! It's going to be amazing!"

"I find that rather hard to believe." Rei said dismissively. It wasn't so much a lack in confidence that the album would flop, more so that Shougo's flighty attitude towards getting it done might have hindered it. He noticed something near the foot of the coffee table leg. The same small marble Izumi had been complaining about before.

"This is.. Nishihara's good luck charm.. I thought Izumi had it. What's it doing here?"

"Ah, he must have dropped it while Nishihara was here."

"He had been making such a fuss about it the other day. Did Nishihara get mad at him for it?"

Shougo looked thoughtful, "I don't think so. She didn't look that way to me anyway." He added under his breath.

"Hm?"

"Nothing! It's a good thing I had come in when you texted me. Otherwise, who knows what would have happened."

Rei found his reaction rather odd, but didn't comment on it. "Did something happen? Izumi's been acting rather strange for the last few days. He's hardly eaten anything or left his room, even for class or the his club."

Shougo shrugged his shoulders in a hopeless manner. "It's probably just him becoming a man..."

Rei stared at him, "What are you talking ab- what happened? Tell me."

Shougo knew he wasn't getting out of the room unscathed unless he fessed up to _something._

They had moved to the small room he had claimed for his office. The manager sat with his head in his heads, an all about air of doom-and-gloom surrounding him. Shougo had explained the situation as best he could, including what had happened back during the commercial shoot. It seemed Rei was having a hard time believing it.

"So... you're telling me," he said, his words tense, "Nishihara... as in.. Suzuka Nishihara .. of the MajorRomantica K Perfume... was the groom... the entire time?"

Shougo, not sharing the shock of this revelation, answered from his where he leaned against the wall. "Yep,"

"And no one thought to tell me?"

"I thought Izumi wouldn't like it if I told people what happened. I mean.. it was kind of embarrassing."

"So then, what were her intentions by stopping by the house?" Rei asked.

"She said she wanted to give something back to Izumi that she took, but I didn't see him holding anything."

Rei looked at his computer screen, his expression serious. "Perhaps I was too trusting..."

"Poor boy, he's probably shaken up after what happened. Whatever he does, whatever he wears, whatever he says, he's just so darn cute! I wouldn't be surprised if something _did_ happen. Then again, he's probably not used to girls even looking at him. He probably just got spooked. Suzuka-san seems very forward about what she's thinking. I'm going to have to protect my cute baby brother from her clutches. I won't let her take him away from me so easily!"

Rei stared into his coffee cup. He couldn't believe he was hearing Shougo trying to be philosophical about the whole thing.

* * *

Aight, so I didn't expect people to actually read this fanfic. I didn't expect people to follow it. And I was definitely terrified every time I got a email saying someone reviewed it. And now I'm screaming cause I kinda forgot where I was going with character development in some parts and now I'm worried characters will fall flat or their motives won't be clear and I'm basically that one spongebob scene of the tiny spongebobs running in a panic in an office that's on fire.


	6. Chapter 6

Rei had kept himself busy most of the morning with documents on his computer, but he was finally reaching the last of his tasks. He hadn't heard any noise throughout the rest of the house, as the Senas were off on another business-related get together elsewhere, and Izumi still hadn't left his room. Rei stared at the broken marble sitting on his pencil tray. All this fuss over something so small. He wanted to curse the object, but found it was no use. What was done was done, even if he didn't understand the whole picture of what was happening yet.

 _It's time to do something about that shut-in._ He left his office and ventured up stairs to Izumi's room. Even with the door closed, there was a strange aura of unfriendliness emitting from it, as if something terrible awaited anyone who entered on the other side. Rei had half a mind not to disturb the poor boy, but he needed to be shaken out of this slump.

#

Izumi hadn't had much of a desire to do.. anything, except lay on his bed and let his mind fizzle away into drifting thoughts of nothing in particular. He lay on his side, his arms and legs wrapped around his body pillow, but even in this state, LalaLulu brought him little comfort. Though his mind was empty, he stared transfixed at the thimble placed on the end of his index finger. He spun it around with his thumb.

The image of Suzuka, a little too close in his mind, spoke a hushed tone, "It's your first kiss," That wasn't how the scene had actually happened, but in his haze, his mind had warped the memory. Things happened in his mind that hadn't actually happened during the initial conversation, and because of that, he was completely unfocused and unraveled and horribly confused.

When her hand had brushed against his face, he had felt a very strange shiver creep up his spine. That sensation of butterflies in his stomach was one he wasn't used to feeling, not in this way. It wasn't like buying a new figurine, or watching a new episode. To think he'd react in such a way from the simple contact between he and another person. It was... embarrassing. No, what was more embarrassing was that whenever he looked at the thimble, his mind tried to rehash the memory and make things that didn't happen, happen. To continue it as though Shougo hadn't entered the room. If he let his mind wander to far... Just what would she have done had he not interrupted them at that moment? What would she have done?

A scream had built up in the same place where the butterflies had been and vaulted out of his body as he clutched the pillow and rolled in a frenzy on his bed. His head was all fuzzy and stuffed up like cotton with these thoughts.

"No! It's embarrassing!" He shouted to knock some sense into himself. "Why do I keep thinking about it?! What's going on with me?!"

A knock at his door hushed his wailing. "Izumi-san?" called Reiji. "How long do you intend to stay in there? Aren't your exams starting soon? It's a students job to study, you know!"

"Studying isn't important right now! Leave me alone!"

"I can't do that. If you fail your tests and your grades fall, you'll have to retake the entire year!"

"That's fine with me! I don't care about grades or college or anything!"

"Izumi-san, if you're going to be like that, what will you do with your future?"

"It's my life! I don't need you to lecture me about it! If I want to repeat a year of school, I will! It's none of your business!"

Those last words were enough to send Rei over an edge of control he had been able to keep in check for a record time now. With a mighty kick, he blasted Izumi's door open with so much force, it was a miracle it hadn't flown off the hinges.

"Who do you think you're kidding here?!" He roared. "If you want to repeat a year of school, you will?! And who pays for those damned expensive tuition fees for you?! Your father that's who!"

Izumi, thoroughly frightened, was kneeling on his bed bowing his head down. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Rei's harshness softened, though he remained stern. "If you understand that, then it's time to come out of your room."

Still sitting on his knees, Izumi stared down at the floor beside his bed. "There's no way you'd understand how I feel, Rei..."

"I do understand."

"You do?"

"What it feels like to be close in such a way with a person."

He had said it so honestly and plainly that Izumi had a hard time believing what he had just heard. He had never been one to consider Rei so much as holding someone's hand, let alone nearly kissing someone. And yet, he seemed to be proven wrong.

"Then, you mean you've - you've done..."

Rei hushed Izumi's excitement. "Well, as much as the next person, yes. As the experienced party, I'm telling you to stop moping over a thwarted attempt like that. From what Shougo said, nothing had apparently happened between the two of you. In the end, it wasn't any worse than a mosquito bite."

"Huh? That was all?"

"Yes, that was all."

Izumi raised a closed hand to his mouth, looking away shyly. "Then, can I ask you something?"

All signs of Rei's anger and annoyance had cleared away at the sight of the boy. "What is it?"

"Can a guy, like, feel weird, if they're touched in certain places? Even ordinary places?" He asked with such seriousness it was as if he were asking how to get away with murder.

"Yes, indeed."

"Really?! You too, Rei?!"

"Most certainly. Each person experiences stimulation differently, especially depending on who's causing it."

"Yay! So I'm not a weird pervert after all!"

Rei wondered what was going on in Izumi's head, but new better than to ask. He got the idea of what might have happened, but the conversation was reaching a strange level of personal topics he wasn't sure he wanted to breach with him.

"Then I'm gonna get ready for school!"

"Huh? Now?"

#

Izumi stretched his arms into the air as he started his way down the sidewalk from his house towards the train station. He had gone from wearing the same pajamas the last three days into a light purple opened button up, a dark purple shirt, jeans and his favorite converse. He felt refreshed. He took a deep breath of the fresh air of the sunny afternoon.

"It really is better to be outside,"

He had intended to head to class, but in his uplifted mood he decided to take a different route from his usual one after leaving the train station. The sky was clear, the air was cool, the day felt perfect, considering how only an hour ago he was sure his world was ending somehow.

The sidewalk took him through a small shopping district. He entertained himself window shopping as he strolled along. But one store had caught his attention enough to make him stop. The window had a multi tiered display table covered in delicate looking glass jewelry. Decorating the white counter top, glass trays, and hanging from thin clear strings were marbles. They sparkled in the sunlight.

He was reminded of the lucky charm. He hadn't seen it since the day Suzuka had come over. A small twist of guilt formed in his stomach. He still didn't know if she was upset over it. His conscience began to sink again, his mood slowly deflating. Maybe he could still buy her a replacement. It wouldn't be the same color, but he maybe the luck could be transfered to a new marble? He'd come back after classes were over.

He took a slight detour from his already detoured route, cutting through a shopping district block using an alley to get to campus as soon as possible. He reached an area where the alley opened up to a parking lot big enough to fit two or three cars behind a business. He hadn't heard voices but was startled when someone shouted at him.

"Oi!" said a gruff voice. "We're in the middle of a transaction here, get lost!" The speaker was a large man, at least two heads taller than Izumi. His hair was dark and spiked, and he was quite built with broad arms and chest covered by a black shirt with jeans. Behind him stood three other men. One wore a zebra print shirt and jeans, had blond hair and a sly grin that reached his eyes. The other had on a purple shirt, jeans, and hair that must have been dyed that shade of brilliant red. The third man wore a brown suit, glasses, and slicked down hair. He, out of the three, definitely didn't belong in the group. He was holding a wallet in his hands.

"I-I'm so sorry!" Izumi stammered, beginning to take steps back. "I'll leave right now!"

The business man seemed far more paniced than Izumi, as he suddenly bolted for it before one of the guys could hold him in place.

"Forget that guy." The black haired man said as he approached Izumi. "We've got something far more interesting over here..."

Izumi had backed up into the alley wall as the man stood in front of him and took his chin in a large, rough, bent finger.

"You've got a pretty face," his eyes held a devilish glare, "Let's see if you're a boy or a girl.."

The other two seemed rather keen on this idea. Izumi felt his heart beginning to race. The sense of panic bubbled in his stomach so quickly, he thought he might be sick any moment. Throwing up on a threat was not going to help the situation at all.

The man leaned closer to whisper, "C'mon, let's play a little."

"Stop-"

"Excuse me," A voice said sharply, but coolly, from down one end of the alley. The group looked over to see who had interrupted them. A woman stood in the center of the paved, single-car roadway. Her long curly brown hair rested over her shoulders. She wore a tunic style, ruffle topped, floor length dress with a floral print, a white summer hat, and large sunglasses. Over one shoulder she held a purse, in her hand, a leash to the fluffiest, whitest dog Izumi had ever seen. In her other hand she held a pale, open parasol.

"Eh?" The larger man was confused by the appearance of the woman. "And just who are you?"

She ignored the man's question, her attention focused on Izumi. "Is everything all right?"

"Hey," the larger man began. "I asked you who you are."

The woman's attention snapped to the man. "And I wasn't talking to you," she replied, "you should wait your turn before speaking."

The blond man approached the woman. Izumi had half a mind to warn her to run, but his voice had stopped working. When he was within arms reach, his sneer brightened his face. "Aren't you a pretty little doll. How about _we_ have some fun?" He reached a hand to touch her face.

The woman seemed very still, not flinching as the man approached her. The leash fell from her hand as she whispered for the dog to stay. Her voice was quiet and level. "I didn't give you permission _to touch me!_ " She moved in a flourish, her hand grabbing the strap of her purse, which she slammed into the side of the man's head with the momentum of whatever was inside like a baseball bat. The man, dazed, fell to the floor with a groan.

The assault took the larger man's attention completely away from Izumi, and he began walking towards the woman with growing agitation. "What do you think you're doing?!"

The woman stood her ground, stepping away from the incapacitated boy as she glared through her sunglasses to the taller man. "Teaching you boy some manners since apparently you skipped that lesson."

"I'm gonna be the only one teaching a lesson around here," he said darkly. His movements were quick, but due to his size, they were somewhat predictable. He had raised a hand to grab her. She moved at the same time as he did, only with quicker reaction time. Izumi closed his eyes instinctively, hearing the sound of something solid connect a second later. He cracked open his eyes, then looked in surprise at the scene before him. The man's arm was still raised, but it wasn't moving. In fact, he had stopped entirely. The upper side of her white, strap sandle was pressed into the side of his face. His expression was completely stunned. The woman stood, her leg kicked up to the side in solid connection with his face. Her skirt floated around her legs in reaction to the movement. The man, with a groan, slowly leaned away off balance and collapsed to the floor, the imprint of the straps visible in his cheek.

The woman corrected her stance, fixing her the strap of her purse on her shoulder again. She looked rather only slightly inconvenienced as she pulled the parasol closed. With a snap, her attention turned to the remaining man. He was stammering, in shock over what had happened to his gang members. He took a shuffled step backwards before he ran for it.

Once the danger had passed, the woman quickly approached Izumi, taking his hand and hushed a "Let's go," as she tugged him behind her to quickly leave the scene of the crime. The dog followed an unsaid command and simply allowed the leash to drag behind it. Izumi was shocked, to say the least, and dumbly followed the woman as she had a firm grip on his hand. He couldn't even get words out to ask what had happened or if she was okay. By the time they stopped, they were a block down in the safety of another alleyway.

The woman took a breath to collect herself, letting it out in a sigh of relief. "I hope no one saw us leaving. I already have enough issues with management." she muttered. Her free hand moved to her thigh where she gingerly rubbed the outside of it. "I am not flexible, I really should stop doing that." It seemed as if she forgot Izumi was there.

"Uh," he started.

"Oh, are you okay? I was in such a rush to get away from there that I forgot to check."

He wasn't sure which he was more floored by, a woman who looked like she walked out of a fashion magazine, or the fact that this woman knocked out two grown men and sent a third running. He glanced down at the dog, who sat panting happily beside her. "I'm... fine. I think - but -"

The woman tapped the closed parasol in her open palm, clearly agitated to some degree. "That should teach those boys not to go picking on dweebs- I mean,"

She was muttering to herself, again forgetting that Izumi was there. He had to ask, the question burning in his mind. "Pardon me but.. who are you?"

All sign of agitation left the woman as she looked back at him. Her expression was slack, disheartened. "Ah? You don't know who I am? Really?"

He felt bad but he nodded. The woman, still looking dejected, stood straight and pulled off her sunglasses. She opened her eyes and blinked before looking back at him.

"Ah! Suzuka?"

"... You really didn't recognize me with the sunglasses on?" She pushed them back onto her eyes. "I get how Superman works now. Anyway, you're not hurt anywhere are you?"

"N-no. But, where did you.. come from?" Izumi spoke in lingering awe.

She pointed with a finger across the street, though there were more shops, they had quickly walked by a small park. "I was doing a small photoshoot for a look-book and I noticed you walking by."

Izumi was still in shock. She _did_ look like she had walked out of a fashion ad. Everything had happened so quickly, his mind was just now catching up. "Thank you," the words left him before he realized he was speaking.

"Is getting attacked by brutes a normal thing for you?"

"Of course not! I was just going that way as a short cut." Izumi felt rather childish. He hadn't been able to handle that situation. Rather than look up at Suzuka, he looked down at the dog again. It stared at him with rather intelligent eyes. "How did you learn how to do that?"

Suzuka was still rubbing the side of her leg. "What? It doesn't take a genius to figure out hitting people in the face will at least distract them. It's a good thing I had the second set of clothes in my bag for the weight. I wouldn't be able to kick two people like that. What were you taking a short cut to?"

"Well I was on my way to school but," his mood for getting anything done had suddenly left him. He looked despaired in the aftershock of it all.

Suzuka regarded him curiously, both she and her dog tilting their heads in his reaction. She looked at the watch on her wrist. "Isn't it late? School's usually over by now, isn't it?"

The realization struck Izumi like a dart. He had spent most of the day in his room, if he had hurried he could have made it to a couple classes, but now he felt rather... upset by the whole ordeal that he couldn't consider it worth the travel time to get there. Suzuka picked up on this thought processes.

"Do you want me to walk you home? In case that happens again." She gestured lightly down the street.

"Oh, no! I'm fine, really! It's not that far away. Besides, I kind of made a show about leaving the house to Rei. He'll probably scold me for coming home right away."

Suzuka pondered something, glancing down at her dog who briefly snorted in some sort of unsaid conversation. "Well, I was going to spend the rest of my day walking around the shopping district. Do you want to go with me?" The dog huffed. "And Ellie?"

"Eh?"

"There's loads of boutiques down the street. If anything, you can kill the time until you have to go home."

The boy was practically numb from it all and hardly realized he muttered an agreement. Suzuka smiled and walked out of the alleyway entrance. Izumi followed suit. They walked in silence for a minute or two before Suzuka offered a topic.

"This is the second time I've seen you in boys clothes. I have to say, your sense of fashion is... _interesting_."

Izumi looked down at his clothes. Jeans, shirt, and an open button up. It was what he was used to wearing, but she had a point. Most of his outfits comprised of these three garments. "Yeah, well," he laughed under his breath despite feeling embarrassed. "I don't know anything about clothing or fashion, I just throw on what's in my closet."

"Clearly," she agreed bluntly, which struck him like a second dart. "I could show you a thing or two."

"Oh no, I'm fine with-"

"C'mon, it'll be fun. You won't even have to buy anything!"

 _What was she implying_ , he wondered. She was becoming rather enthused at the idea.

"There's nothing wrong with just trying on some new styles! There's a boys boutique there!"

Their first stop was a small shop with different styles of casual wear. In the time since he and Suzuka met, she had brightened up considerably. She looked to be enjoying the entire shopping process more than he was. He didn't want to ruin her mood by mentioning he hardly cared for fashion wear. He would have been fine with a cheap, plain shirt, not a single shirt that cost about as much as his allowance for six weeks. He tried on shirt after shirt, vest after vest, jacket after jacket, and all sorts of combinations of the three. None of them seemed to suit him just right. In some way or another, his image just didn't seem.. natural.

Suzuka was poking around several racks of clothing, pulling out a brown vest.

"W-why are you doing this?" Izumi asked, his arms held out as she placed articles of clothing in them.

"Shopping with people is much more fun than shopping alone." Suzuka said idly as she examined a brown vest, both front and back. She knew that wasn't the answer he wanted, and smiled as she looked over at him. "I keep screwing up one way or another every time I see you, so I want to make it up somehow."

"B-but you haven't-"

"I've never met anyone like you before," her expression was soft, admiring, "so I'm trying to learn how to behave. I'm sorry if it seems strange."

"No! You're not strange at all!"

She looked relieved, "That's good, then. Miss, do you have any ties?"

The curtain was pulled back to reveal Izumi wearing his same jeans and shoes, only with a short sleeved white dress shirt, brown vest, and a red plaid tie.

" _Perfect_!" Suzuka said, somewhat surprising Izumi as she said it in English.

"It looks wonderful on him!" The store assistant beamed.

"Is it alright if he wears it out like this?"

"What? But you said I wasn't going to spend anything!"

"Of course!" said the store worker, "I'll remove the tags and ring it up."

Suzuka was fixing the collar of his shirt in back when she paused. "Izumi... when was the last time you washed your hair?"

"Uh," Izumi had a sinking feeling in his stomach.

To his surprise, Suzuka had been mostly correct. He didn't have to spent anything on the new wardrobe because she paid for it herself. And for the hairstylist, she paid for that as well. By the time they had finished shopping and pampering themselves, the sun had begun to set, giving the shopping district a hazy orange glow. The pair walked through the park, Ellie dutifully following at her side. In the time Izumi had been trying on the clothes, she had somehow managed a few purchases of her own as she held a second shopping bag. The one Izumi held held is own shirt and vest and a couple of complimentary hair care products.

"How much do I owe you for the outfit and the hair?"

"Nothing at all, it's a gift."

"Really? I feel bad though."

"It's the least I can do after .. _everything_. Although I'm not sure how well a new shirt compensates trauma."

They stood near the fountain, taking a small break from their adventurous walking. Suzuka sat at the edge, dipping her hand in the water. Izumi sat, rather stiffly, beside her. He was unsure of what to say, if there was anything _to_ say. He had spent most of his afternoon in the company of a woman who looked like a walking fashion ad. He felt so... frumpy, even in his new clothes. He stared at the tile floor surrounding the fountain. Suddenly a hand came into his view. He started, and felt his glasses being lifted off his nose and away from his face. "Huh? What are you doing?" He asked, holding a hand to his face as he suddenly felt a rush of heat. His glasses, though clear, were a sort of security blanket for his appearance. He felt exposed without them. "Give them back."

Suzuka held them in one hand, looking at Izumi so intently he felt he had to look away when she smiled. "You make the cutest faces, I can't get over it."

"Okay, I make weird faces, give them back now-" He reached for his glasses, leaning a little too far as she pulled her hand away. He lost his balance and fell onto her shoulder. Her response was to use an arm as a stand to keep her from falling over as well. When he looked up, he found his face to be only inches away from hers. She didn't seem to share the same bashfulness as he did, as she was able to look him full in the face with the most gentle expression. Meanwhile, his face was beginning to heat up again.

There was a loud sound of a gurgle between them. Izumi jumped slightly as he realized that was from his stomach and sat back.

A stifled giggle broke Suzuka's calm features. "Are you hungry?"

Izumi scampered back to put distance between them as he stared hard at the floor. "Well, I left the house without eating."

"Why didn't you mention that sooner? We can go get something to eat." She looked over her shoulder, back towards the shopping buildings. "I know a really good restaurant nearby, it has private rooms so people won't stare-" Izumi was stiff, staring like a deer in the headlights. A reaction Suzuka immediately noticed. She waved both hands in front of her. "Okay, okay, no restaurants! How about..." She cast her eyes around the park, then noticed a stall near one side. "If that's a crepe stand, we can get you one of those? That way we can stay in the park."

"Crepes?" Izumi looked to where she was pointing and his face brightened up. "Yeah!"

Suzuka was mildly surprised at his change in reaction again. He was easily excitable like a child. The pair had gotten a crepe each for themselves and had started their stroll along the empty paved path around the park. Both sides were lined with trees, and one side had tall standing lanterns that would soon turn on in the encroaching dusk. They walked in friendly silence, her fluffy dog walking between them at a brisk walk. Suzuka plucked a strawberry from her crepe and fed it to the pooch.

Izumi bit into his crepe and smiled. It was a simple vanilla ice cream crepe wrap with a chocolate drizzle, but he looked like it was the best tasting thing in the world.

Suzuka walked quietly, looking down at the boy a moment in soft wonder before looking away. "I.. saw you in that jewelry store."

Izumi looked up at her curiously.

"What happened to the marble... I'm not upset," she went on, "I'm really not, and I don't want you to hold onto that guilt anymore, okay?"

"Ah..but- I still feel bad. It was your lucky charm all this time.."

"The only reason it was a lucky charm was because it reminded me of you. After that first commercial, I didn't do much acting in front of a film camera, but I did go into modeling. I was a child model for a while, then an adolescent. It's not an easy job. Not in the least. It's a miracle I've even made it this far, honestly.

"There were times where I wanted to throw in the towel. I was tired of having people micromanaging what I did or how I ate to keep an image. But whenever I looked at the marble, it made me think of you. That smiling little girl that I got to work with that day. I wondered if I'd ever see you again. If maybe, you were taking a break from that kind of business and would get back into it eventually. It kind if gave me hope." She brought a hand to her mouth with a hopeless smile. "But that sounds far too cheesy, doesn't it?"

Izumi stared at his crepe, his expression weighed down. He took a bite, but it didn't taste as good as it did before.

"That's why I think the marble is such a lucky charm. It found it's way back to you. So in all honestly, I think it broke because all of the luck ran out. It had done it's job."

"It... ran out?"

It sounded like something from a fairy tale or fiction, like it was an actual magical object. Though he had felt guilty about it, hearing her describe it that way made him feel slightly better. Though the ice cream in the crepe was cold, his body felt warm hearing those words.

"Every time my heart was on the verge of breaking, I'd look at the marble and I'd feel better."

They had stopped walking. Izumi turned around to face her. The dog sat in between them, looking back and forth from one to the other. The scene felt unreal, too ethereal. He couldn't have been standing here with this woman who was pouring out a part of her heart to him this way. That kind of stuff didn't happen to an otaku and yet... there he was.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is.. thank you, Izumi. For being a little light in the darkness that helped me through all those things." She stepped close to him.

He didn't startle or move away. He felt a warmth against his forehead. He realized, though numbly, that Suzuka had leaned forward and pressed her lips to the exposed part of his forehead between his fringe. The connection lasted forever and yet was over in an instant. She leaned back and smiled, looking down at the dog.

"Would it be okay if we were friends?"

Izumi made no response. Suzuka looked worried. Had she broken the poor boy? Probably.

"On second thought, you don't have to answer that. I'm sorry. I'm being way too forward. I think I should head home." The dog gave a gentle 'boof' in response. "Sorry for keeping you all afternoon, Izumi. Thank you for spending it with me. I hope you enjoyed it. Have a good evening."

"Uh-" Izumi couldn't find the words he wanted to say. His mind was completely blank. Suzuka had started to walk past him. "Wait... I..." She stopped and looked over at him. "Could I... maybe..." The words were straining to leave him as his emotional center was having a small breakdown. "E-mail..?"

Suzuka's look of surprise turned into a small amused smile of relief. "Mm!" She agreed, pulling out her phone. They exchanged emails via an automatic transfer and all of Izumi's information was loaded into Suzuka's phone.

"Ah, so that's how you write your name. It's pretty. Would it be okay if I texted you?"

Izumi was scratching the side of his head in stunned embarrassment. How was all of this happening to him? He nodded with a small vocal agreement.

"All right, well, see you later." Suzuka gave a small wave of goodbye as she turned and left Izumi's company.

Neither of them had noticed the white van that had slowly pulled away from across the street.

* * *

 _Sometimes I just really wanna write a lady in high heels kicking someone in the face... and it happened.. By the way Ellie is a Samoyed, in case anyone wanted to know her breed of doge._


End file.
